The Power Is Yours!
by Stephensmat
Summary: It's been a year since Hope Island was formed, and the Planeteers are still going strong. But now their True Foe is preparing to reveal himself at last, and he has forces of his own. With the world at stake, our Heroes will have to put their faith in unexpected places, as time runs out... The third and final tale in the of the "Heroes For Earth" Trilogy.
1. The Power Is Yours

_I go where the spirit moves me. I see darkness and light at war with each other. I see darkness receding in some places, growing in others. I see reason in retreat, but hope in advance. I see cooperation withdrawing, but individuals ascending._

 _Even I don't know what will happen next. I know only that it must happen soon._

* * *

Congressman Damon had never been to a Diner like this before. That was the whole point, of course. The man he met was older, with short cut hair, and was already sipping a coffee when Damon sat down.

"You're Stephan?" Damon asked quietly, glancing over his shoulder.

"Yes, Congressman." Stephan said in a low voice. "You've reconsidered?"

"I've reconsidered nothing. I'm here to accept your surrender."

"Our surrender?" Stephan countered, as though it was laughable. "You're the one asking for a bribe."

"Not a bribe, a royalty."

"For a chem plant that hasn't opened yet."

"Consider it an advance on a deal." Damon insisted. "Messing with the water table is political suicide right now, if anyone finds out. Flint, Michigan? Still on bottled water. Legal fees cost money."

"Only if you get charged. We have a strong liability shield."

"Yes, you do. Which is why you won't be charged. So who do you think will get roasted over a low flame when the picketing starts?"

"Haven't you heard?" Stephan cracked. "According to the Government and the EPA, there's nothing to fear from Climate Change."

"You read the story about two hundred thousand scientists signing their name to a borderline apocalyptic warning for the future?" Damon fired back.

"That was yesterday's news. Today's news was about who hooked up and broke up on the 22nd season of The Bachelor." Stephan chuckled. "Nobody cares."

"If nobody cared, you wouldn't be here talking to me. If nobody cared, you wouldn't have to cover up these things. Have you seen the plans for the Plant? You're _literally_ across the street from a dog park. Kids, pets… You can't take chances with babies. Just ask any politician who ever dropped one. Now what's in it for me to take that chance?"

"On lives?"

"No! On the press, idiot." Damon scorned. "Lives cause controversy for a week per victim, but a bad news cycle could cost me the re-elect."

"You've already been offered fifty thousand." Stephan reminded him.

"And if that's going to be my re-elect fund, I'll be expecting a few more digits on the end of that." Damon said briskly. "This is not a small matter. You're asking me to falsify records."

"Oh, very well. Shall we call it an even half million?"

"More."

"You know, Congressman; it'd be easy to take that half million you just turned down, and give it to your opponent at the next election."

"If you could do that, you would." Damon scorned. "You're more afraid of picketers than I am; that's why you're rushing this through. This plant is worth almost two hundred million. What's your usual legal fees worth? You want me to fix it for you, consider me a legal expense."

"Fine. Two million. Final offer."

"And you pick up the check."

"You haven't ordered anything."

"How many tonnes of chemical runoff will it be, again?"

"Fine. Lunch is on me." Stephan said. "By the way, we haven't been introduced. My name is Stephan Petrov."

"Why do I care?" Damon asked blandly.

"Hi, dad." A younger voice said brightly, and a young blonde woman was suddenly sitting down next to Stephan. "This is a nice place. So, what are we having for lunch?"

"Oh my god." Damon breathed.

The young blonde held out a hand with an unsettling grin. "Oh, we haven't met. I'm Linka."

At the next booth, a young man took off his baseball cap, revealing a mop of red hair. "And I'm Wheeler. And the man with the camera on your left? Kwame. You may have heard of us."

The people in the Diner were waking up to the fact that there were several global celebrities in their midst, and started pulling out their phones and cameras as quickly as they could. Damon was up and running for the door, quickly… and when he burst outside, the first thing he saw was a large projector screen, with his own face projected for those watching, as they walked down the street.

And perched at the edge of the screen with a laptop, was Gi. "Ha! Geeks Rule!" She chirped happily. "Let's see my favorite part again!"

" _Lives cause controversy for a week per victim, but a bad news cycle could cost me the re-elect." His onscreen twin said._

" _You've already been offered fifty thousand." Stephan reminded him, just out of the camera's vision._

" _And if that's going to be my re-elect fund, I'll be expecting a few more digits on the end of that."_

Damon turned away from the screen, and found a crowd had gathered. A much larger crowd than was normally expected out front of a Diner, but a small boy with a glowing Golden Ring on his hand explained that one.

Gi played the clip again, and again, and the crowd started booing, sending Damon running.

* * *

"Thanks for the use of your equipment." Linka's father said as they started putting their things away an hour later.

"It's not ours." Gi told him. "Use of the screen, thoughtfully donated by a member of the Planeteer Foundation."

"It's a waste of time, you know." Stephan said as they packed up the screen.

"Exposing corrupt deals and saving people from getting sick by the thousands isn't a good day for you?" Linka countered.

"There's no chance that any of the charges will stick, and the video he can declare inadmissible, since I couldn't get the warrant together."

"That's why you called us, Agent Petrov." Kwame told him. "We don't need a warrant, and as long as everyone knows, his legal issues aren't our problem."

"He won't be able to wriggle out of that video by the next election." Wheeler added. "In his world, that's the same as being dead."

"Oh, like being dirty ever kept anyone from high office."

"You're bitter today." Linka commented.

"Life of Law Enforcement, daughter." Stephan sighed. "Two steps forward, one back. Sometimes it goes the other way."

"Tell me about it." Wheeler quipped, and made his way back to the others.

"Where's mom?" Linka asked once they were alone. "You always get this cranky without her around. I was expecting her to be with you on this one."

"Your mother is working a long-term investigation somewhere in Europe." Her father told her. "I've had trouble getting her on the phone. You're right, I get like this when I don't see my wife."

Linka smiled a very thin line. Her parents were rarely at their best when they didn't see each other, but routinely went months without contacting their daughter. But she saw no benefit in saying so.

"Where do you go from here?" Stephan asked.

"Back to Hope Island for now." Linka yawned. "We've been on the road for a while. We'll figure out our next lineup of missions. The Island is pretty well placed for international travel. At least, if you want to do so in secret."

* * *

The sun was setting on Hope Island as the Geo-Cruiser returned to it.

The island was now home to most of their families, who had learned the hard way that being related to powerful figures, or global celebrities, was not the easiest life.

Kim and Yumi, Gi's parents, had taken to their new life without too much trouble. The only thing that had really changed for them was their job, and the neighbors. They had lived on their houseboat already.

"What are you reading?" Yumi asked her husband.

"A news item about the rise of 'clean meat'." Kim put the tablet down. "Lab-Grown meat was science fiction five years ago, they say it'll be commercially available within a year."

"For those with money to burn."

"Less so than you think. Besides, that's what they said about Solar Power. There are some big names behind the push for lab-grown meat. No animals to raise cruelly, no waste of water or space… I remember Gi telling us about their first mission, and Wheeler making the crack that if the whole world had to go vegetarian, what was the point of saving the world."

Yumi chuckled. "So you figure if Grown Meat goes the same route as Solar Power, from expensive to cheaper than anything else, we'll have another revolution on the scene?"

"The Meat industry creates as much C02 and methane as the auto industry." Kim nodded. "If you can grow a steak without needing to feed cows, or for that matter, own a cattle farm, isn't that better? No animals being slaughtered; and enough grain and water to supply the entire third world. Would vegetarians have a problem with eating meat again?"

"Speaking of eating, they'll be back soon." Yumi reminded him. "Passing from matters of mere worldwide importance to the really important stuff, we need to get Gi's dinner ready to travel."

"If doesn't have to travel that far." Kim reminded his wife, when they heard JJ hollering a warning from outside. "Oop! They're back! Now we gotta hurry!"

"That's what I'm saying!" Yumi rolled her eyes. "Bring the candles!"

* * *

The Planeteers took a break now and then. It wasn't an easy life, and they everyone needed some time to themselves. They appreciated it to different degrees, and Kwame found that he appreciated the respite more since officially starting a relationship with Gi.

From the moment they arrived back on Hope Island, the others peeled off. The few family members that lived on Hope Island permanently were also notably absent.

"I didn't notice anyone calling ahead." Kwame commented as he and Gi strolled towards her place, arm in arm. "Do you think Ma-Ti told them to give us privacy?"

"I think the Calendar told them to give us privacy, love." Gi chuckled. "It's our six month anniversary, after all."

Kwame made no outward reaction.

* * *

"I can feel Kwame's brain screaming." Ma-Ti commented as he walked with Linka and Wheeler down the beach. "He's panicking."

"I still can't believe he forgot their anniversary." Linka commented.

"He's been busy." Wheeler pointed out.

"No excuse."

"So why didn't we take a moment at any point over the last month and warn him?" Wheeler countered.

Linka paused, before moving again. "We've been busy."

"No excuse." Wheeler needled.

* * *

"I only wish we could have made it special." Kwame covered. "It's been one mission after another, and most of the last month were ones that public doesn't know about."

"And we better hope they _never_ find out." She reminded him. "I would have liked to make a big deal too, but it…" She sniffed the air. "Hey, is that… Oyakodon?"

"Hm?" Kwame asked, not having a clue what that meant.

Gi rushed the last few feet to her Japanese Style home, and pushed the screen door open. The room was lit with romantic paper lanterns, surrounding the table, filled with steaming ceramic pots of food, with two floor chairs on either side.

Gi squealed and jumped up high enough to kiss Kwame square on the mouth. "You wonderful man!" She went to the table and started lifting lids. "Oyakodon, Gyoza Pork in Miso Soup, Teriyaki Salmon, and…" She kissed him again. "All my favorites! How did you know?!"

* * *

"I cannot believe you learned to make Teriyaki Salmon." Linka said by way of greeting to her Grandmother.

"It was an interesting challenge." The old woman smiled. "Miso soup is quite a bit different from Borscht."

"You're back!" Little Ruby spun at the sound of her voice and came running. Linka bent to take her in a hug, but she zipped right past Linka and powered into Wheeler's stomach like a train, wrapping her arms around him. "Welcome back!"

Wheeler chuckled at the blatant betrayal on Linka's face and ruffled Ruby's hair.

Hearing their voices, Gi's parents Kim and Yumi came out of the warehouse they'd set up. The families knew that the Planeteers weren't exactly their kids anymore, and had set up their own little colony a respectful distance away. Hope Island was neutral territory, and nobody wanted to try and take advantage of some of the most famous, and most dangerous people in the world, but it was a pristine tropical world with living things, and that demanded attention. Gi's parents had been hosting a few botanists who had a particular interest in some of the amazing plantlife that had sprouted from nothing a year before. There were whole fields of science dedicated to the existence of Hope Island, and all her creatures.

"They find their anniversary dinner?" Yumi asked with a smile.

"You're not worried that five different dishes of Gi's favorite childhood foods would be too much?"

"He didn't get her a gift, the dinner had to be over the top." Ruby told him wisely.

* * *

"It's perfect!" Gi declared. "You're perfect."

"I'm glad you like it." Kwame let up a silent prayer of gratitude. "Gi, we've been crazy busy since the day we met, and it won't be getting any slower or easier any time soon. But in a life that's involved world travel, superpowers, Earth Spirits and everything in between… This time with you has been the best part of my life. It's… it's everything. It's what we're working for, why the Planeteers exist, it's why things matter. Just this. Just you and me. I always loved the world, but… I never realized how much I loved the people in it until I loved you most of all."

"...I love it when you get all goopy like that." Gi kissed him again. "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

"Linka was quite insistent that everything be perfect." Yumi added with a maternal smile.

Wheeler smiled at Linka. "You big softie!"

"I'd call you the same, but you'd probably take it personally." Linka shot back cuttingly. "Besides, it's good for team morale if our fearless leader and our logistics expert are happy together."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that."

"Yankee, how many stores did you search through, looking for those ingredients? We weren't exactly in a good spot for Gyoza wraps."

"Hey, I wanted it to go well; and unlike you, I don't mind admitting it." Wheeler defended. "It's been going on a year now since i've had a date, I gotta live vicariously through Kwame. He's my guy."

Linka snorted.

"Speaking of perfect homecomings, we've got dinner for you guys too." Kim commented. "Not quite as lavish, I'm afraid…. In fact, it's pretty much our first attempt at what Gi and Kwame are eating right now."

"They're her childhood favorites. Why'd you have to rehearse?"

"Timing. We were expecting you back two hours ago." Alana chided them. "It kills the romance if you have to reheat it first. Gi doesn't even have a microwave."

"Neither do you." Wheeler reminded her. "And if you have a problem with our arrival time, take it up with the engine." He jerked a thumb at Linka. "Now, you don't need a microwave, you have me."

* * *

 **HAHAHAHAHA!**

 _I don't know why you're encouraged. Life is everywhere in advance._

 **The humans are running to extremes. There's no middle ground between them. The more that some believe in life, the more everyone else is obsessed with destruction. The humans have no tolerance for disagreement, let alone each other. You have no hope of pulling them back together.**

 _Do not mistake me for being helpless, Zarm. Gentle does not mean weak. Peace does not mean surrender. Your plan hasn't changed since we began The Game. I adapt. Everything I nurture does._

 **I've heard these words before… The last time I won The Game.**

* * *

After dinner, the three unoccupied Planeteers went into the Communications Tent. It was called that, though it had solid walls now. What had began as a spare tent to keep the wind and rain away from delicate radio and television equipment had evolved into the Tactical Room for the Planeteers. One side was dominated by the electronics that let them communicate and monitor the rest of the world, and the other half of the structure was dedicated to the Mission List.

A huge map of the world covered most of the wall, with pins pushed into every place the planeteers were planning to go and get involved. Each Pin had a note, written on a whiteboard beside the map.

"The Missouri Chemical Plant is done." Linka commented, erasing the mission in question.

Wheeler took down the pin. One of hundreds. "This list only ever gets longer." He admitted. "But JJ took a few of them down while we were gone. Looks like the Foundation was able to get a few things blocked or exposed while we were busy."

"Every little bit helps." Ma-Ti nodded.

* * *

They all had homes, and picnic areas, but they still took most of their meals on the beach, with a carpet of stars stretching from one sky to the other. When the ocean breeze turned cold, Wheeler would conjure a campfire, and they'd make an evening of it.

Ma-Ti had stalked off into the jungle, as he usually did when they came back.

"I wonder what he does in there sometimes." Linka mentioned after a while. "Alone in the jungle."

"I asked him once. I don't really have a clue what he said." JJ put in. "Just so you know, I've been trying to get the New York Chapter of the Foundation to put together something to commemorate the-"

"I thought that was called off." Linka put in.

"It was, but I'm trying to get it restarted." JJ told her. "It's kind of an occasion worth mentioning."

"You sure you aren't just trying to get back to New York?" Linka smirked at him, not noticing as Wheeler suddenly looked up and waved at her to stop talking.

Too late. JJ's face fell. "Emily? Nah, that's over. Her dad kinda put the brakes on the whole thing."

"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't know that." Linka sighed. "He didn't approve?"

"Well, he wasn't wild about the time we were all fugitives…"

"We?" Wheeler and Linka noted in perfect unison.

"You." JJ corrected without missing a beat. "But the real problem was when we were cleared, and-"

"We?" Wheeler and Linka again noted in perfect unison.

"You." JJ corrected again without missing a beat. "Anyway, when the Foundation became popular again, Emily's dad was one of those people eager to show how he had faith in you guys the whole time; and never believed any of the rumors or… warrants." JJ rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "So when he started encouraging his daughter to date _The_ Wheeler Johnson's brother, it was like a bucket of icewater on the whole thing. If her father approved, I couldn't possibly be worth the trouble."

Linka winced. "Ouch. Well, hang in there, we're sure to become disreputable again at some point. Wheeler can help there, I'm sure."

Wheeler was about to say something cutting in return, when he noticed Alana and Gi's parents had all made their way back toward their own huts, leaving the kids on the beach. Also realizing it, JJ and Ruby traded a practised look and stood up at almost the same time. "Well, I should be turning in." JJ said brightly.

"Me too." Ruby chirped. "Past my bedtime." She pushed Linka back into her spot on the sand. "Stay. Alana can read me a story. Night, Wheeler! Have fun!"

They both took off quickly, leaving Linka and Wheeler alone together.

"Have fun?" Wheeler repeated.

"Subtle, aren't they?" Linka deadpanned.

"Inscrutable." Wheeler commented. "Anyway. Dessert." He pulled a box of chocolates out of nowhere like a magic trick.

Linka blinked. "Where were you hiding those?"

"It's a beach, Linka. You find a way to keep the sand out, I could hide pirate treasure out here if I wanted."

Linka actually laughed. "I saw the box in your bag, and I thought you bought those for Gi and Kwame; as an apology for all those 'making the earth move' quips."

"I bought them for us." Wheeler told her. "It's our anniversary too."

"I suppose it is at that, but Ma-Ti and…" Linka paused, before opening the box. "Well, can't let them go to waste."

They ate for a bit, looking out over the ocean, when Linka's phone buzzed. "It's from Karen."

"Well, we've been on break long enough, I guess." Wheeler almost laughed. Karen Gillys was a journalist that covered the arrival of Hope Island, and then the Planeteers, almost exclusively. Six months later, when the Planeteers had been framed for murder, she had been the loudest voice insisting on their innocence. A position that almost cost her career in the short term, and gained her promotion when the truth came out. Since then, she had been a source of information on several of their missions.

"What's she got for us this time?" Wheeler asked.

Linka read the screen for a long while, face falling. "It's not a tip. She's forwarding some of the newest responses. People are asking… oof."

"Oof?" Wheeler repeated, surprised. "First time I've ever heard you react like that."

"Sometimes I wonder if we've moved the needle at all." Linka sighed, eyes still glued to her phone.

"What do you mean?" Wheeler asked. "I know you break out in hives whenever we aren't physically tearing someone apart, but-"

Linka pushed the device to Wheeler. "Look at some of the responses we're getting the last few months."

Wheeler read them. "Yeah, well… I don't need to tell you how fast the winds can change."

"Is that a pun?"

"You used to be able to tell."

Linka rolled her eyes. "Something happens, and people start losing hope. _Bozhe moi_ , they lose hope so fast, don't they?"

"There's a reason why we run the 'Power is Yours' Campaign every other month."

"Well we need to start it again, obviously." Linka sighed. "One bad day at the market, people stop giving, one bad speech, people stop believing. One election, one scandal, one politician-"

"Linka, that's reactions, not opinions." Wheeler told her. "If there's one thing I've learned after becoming a Global Celebrity with a sex scandal, it's that people are happy to shout, and then forget what they're shouting about an instant later."

Linka snorted. "Sometimes I wonder which one of us is the cynical one."

"You are. I'm the pretty one." Wheeler reminded her. "You know why Karen is sending us this? It's not because the wind has shifted. We've been getting this sort of thing on and off since we started."

"The Anniversary." Linka nodded. "Hard to believe it's been a year since we all met."

"I know. I honestly can't remember life before you." Wheeler admitted.

Linka gave him a look, not for the first time.

"All of you, I mean." Wheeler pulled back. "The team."

"You think it's enough?" Linka ran out of words. "Because I don't know, but we've definitely set the world on its head. I just don't know for sure if what's in its place now is going to do the job."

"As it is? Probably not." Wheeler admitted. "But we aren't finished yet. The debate is over; this much is clear. There's nobody pushing Climate Denial that the world takes seriously."

"People don't take world leaders seriously?"

"Be honest, Linka. People stopped expecting politicians to be world leaders a long time ago."

"Well, based on some of these comments, it's not that obvious to me."

Wheeler looked at the screen again. "Have you gotten any interview requests? Any retrospectives? It's the Anniversary, and there isn't anything on the cards about recognizing it. Nothing but this mention from Karen that… well, people are losing hope."

"Then we have to remind them." Linka nodded. "We should tell Kwame it's time to start the next Tour."

Linka and Wheeler both looked up the beach at Gi's little hut, and the soft candlelight on the Japanese style panels. The light from within faded instantly, as the candles were blown out.

"Tomorrow." They said in unison.

* * *

Ma-Ti walked through the jungle that gathered at the base of Hope Island's Mountain. It wasn't wide, but there was enough density in the foliage to support a diverse range of animals.

His parents had lived in the Jungle their whole lies, and had a hut on the edge of the trees. Here, the perfume of flowers and fruit life was thick enough to drown out the omnipresent ocean sounds, and smell of salt.

"Ma-Ti." His father said. "Something is wrong."

"Yes." Ma-Ti said simply. "I don't think the others have realized it yet."

"The birds are building more nests. Ones they don't need. They're peeling the bark off trees to make them. The animals are eating twice as much as they usually do. The rodent species are already hibernating, digging their habitats deeper. The predator species have been more aggressive with each other, fighting for dominance in packs that have been well established. The scavenger species are gathering stores. It's like they're expecting winter, but…"

"I know." Ma-Ti agreed. "Something is coming."

* * *

Barbara Bligh was the Security Chief for The Corporation; the largest collection of wealth, business, technology and industry in the history of the world. It was a largely unobserved role in the hierarchy, and she preferred it that way.

In her somewhat unobserved post, she was able to watch, acting as Gatekeeper and Watchman. And after it came on so gradually, she hadn't been sure. But now she was certain. There was something terribly wrong in The Corporation's highest echelon.

Bligh caught up with Mal in her own private office. Mal was a skilled technician, and his loyalties were unquestioned, but something had thrown a scare into him.

She perched on the edge of her desk in front of the chair he sat in. "Did you do as I said?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"It wasn't easy for you, was it, Mal?" She commented, with the barest taunt in her voice. "To be brave in that man's den?"

"No Ma'am." Mal sighed, knowing what was coming.

Bligh smiled, like she had a delicious taste in her mouth. "But you're such a good little chew toy that you did it anyway, because I told you to. Right?"

This time he didn't answer. Bligh was beautiful, in a way that hinted at being unnatural, but it wasn't any surgery or chemicals that made her beauty seem off. It was her soul. She had an expression so tightly controlled that her face wore a permanent mask; and it had made grown men look away. Mal was under no illusions. His boss owned him completely. If she wanted a scratching post, he would do it; knowing she had no love for anyone. Not even herself.

"Things are changing." Mal said, almost unaware he'd said it out loud.

"They are." Bligh nodded. "I'm not worried."

"You never are, boss. It's why I work for you." Mal noted. "But you have to see what's going on."

"Mal, you worry too much." Bligh said firmly. "In this room, with the cameras off, you don't worry, you obey."

"Yes Ma'am." Mall sighed, bowing his head. "I just don't like what I'm seeing."

One of Bligh's perfect legs came up and pushed him back in his chair, until he overbalanced and fell to the floor. "You watched the feed? Those were not your instructions, Mal. Your instructions were to place the camera, conceal it, and get out of Stumm's private office before he caught you."

Mal kept his head bowed. "He barely leaves, Ma'am. I checked his keycard records. He hasn't used his rooms in weeks. If he's not sleeping in his own bed, or using his shower…"

"Mal, what did I just say?" Bligh barked, without even raising her voice. "You did your job. Consider yourself impressive enough for today. Leave the rest to me."

Mal said nothing. Everyone at her level lusted for power. Money held no interest, given how much of it was being tossed around them every day. Bligh and Stumm could use hundred dollar bills as toilet paper and not notice the loss. She didn't toy with him out of interest in sex, or even out of boredom. She had absolute power over him and had no interest in anything he had to offer.

But Bligh's thrills came from using that power. From showing her dominance and exercising control over anything that was helpless in her grip. Mal had long since given up fighting. He wondered if that was why she had kept him so long. There was an invisible leash around his throat, no matter where she was.

He had made no effort to stand, and she had returned to her desk; tapping at her computer. "You have secured my system?"

"I have."

"Then let's see what The King is doing tonight." Bligh smirked, and brought up the feed on her own screen. Getting Stumm out of his office was no easy feat these days. For all her dismissal, she knew getting a camera in was a dangerous mission. When she brought up the feed, she saw the only man in the Corporation that she answered to, lazing in his chair. "What else was he doing before?" She asked Mal.

"Nothing. Just that…" Mal bit his lip. "Boss, I was in there for three minutes, and… I didn't like it. There was something seriously wrong in that room."

Bligh was still watching. "He's still just sitting there. He's not even on his phone. Is he high?"

"I didn't see anything, but he's plugged into something." Mal commented.

Bligh was watching, unreadable. "Yes, he is."

"What is it?"

Bligh's eyes were locked on Stumm's ring, visible on the screen. "I don't know what Stumm's on; but I've seen it before with everyone in his chair. Devorux, Appius, Bleek. Their vices were frequent and varied. The same story every time. Once they reach the top, they are sharks without prey. A feeding frenzy with nothing to feed on."

"Mind if I hazard a guess?" Mal said bravely.

"Speak." She told him, like he was a puppy.

"I saw the Rings the Planeteers wear. I saw them before they went public. I did metallurgy, I did symbology, I did spectral scans. Nobody else has ever gotten those rings off them. The public thinks the power comes from the five of them personally. You, Stumm, and me are maybe the last people alive who know for sure that they aren't."

Bligh was still watching the screen. "And so?"

"Well, um…" Mal ran out of words. "He has a ring now. With the black stone on it… It wasn't there before."

"You're smart enough to impress me, Mal. And I don't impress easily."

He wasn't surprised she'd put it together too. "What do you plan to do about it?"

"Plan to do?" Bligh turned to drill her gaze into Mal. "What did Stumm plan to do when we sucked the world dry and gnawed on the bones? What did he plan to do when we got the reports that told us there were people starving in the parking lots behind every Corporation Supermarket? What did we plan to do when the Planeteers appeared and vowed to beat us? Same thing we did every time. We found a way to leverage the chaos into profit and power."

Mal was clearly not pleased with that, but he said nothing.

Bligh tapped him on the nose. "Mal, just remember one thing. We aren't neutral. We picked our side in this game a long time ago. A conqueror only falls when he runs out of worlds to conquer. You and me? We came to the table long after the Corporation owned the world. They did something no politician, no warlord, no Emperor could do. We have a controlling share. Of everything. There is nothing left of the world left to conquer, only to devour. And that thought appeals to Stumm."

"But not to you?" Mal asked.

"Stumm would believe my answer is yes. What he fails to understand, Mal; is something you know in your bones." She took his chin between her fingers possessively. "Can you guess?"

Mal's breath hitched, she was so close. "Nobody tells you what to do, Chief."

"Good boy." She said, pleased. "People like me? We vowed to be at the top of the food chain. Because everything below the top, is prey. It's a philosophy that guarantees we'll never see heaven, and that hell lives in fear of the day we arrive."

"What about the Planeteers?" Mal asked. "Are they chum too?"

"The Planeteers don't fear his attack, and they have no interest in his bribes. He can't control them or defeat them because they fear nothing he can throw at them, and they have no interest in anything he can offer. The Planeteers are playing their own game. I have no problem with the world spinning on forever. Whether the game lasts a few years beyond my lifetime, or in perpetuity, it makes no difference to me, because I won't be around. I have no particular problem with the world becoming sustainable. Green or black, the controlling share of the world will still be owned by someone. Stumm is determined to be that someone."

"And you?"

"I don't need to own. Who holds the leash is an entirely different prospect than who holds the deed." Bligh snorted, and switched off her screen. "And you know how I love to be in control, don't you, Mal?"

"Yes ma'am." Mal said obediently.

Bligh started to turn back to her desk, then paused. "But… why would you bring up the Planeteers just now?"

Mal tapped at his device and showed her something. Bligh was unreadable as she read Mal's latest report. "When?"

"Next week."

Bligh rose, straightened her tunic. "I think I'll see if Lord Saruman is receiving His Court." She drawled. "Keep an eye on things, Mal."

Mal nodded and went to her side of the desk. She watched him until she was satisfied he wasn't going to sit in her chair, and then she sauntered out of her office. The second she was gone, Mal sat in her chair anyway, and stuck out his tongue at her retreating form; bringing up the feed from Stumm's office.

* * *

Bligh entered Stumm's office without knocking. It had been weeks since she had been there personally. Time had not been kind to what was once the most plush, expensive, grandstanding monument to egotism that money could buy.

But now it looked like it had been dug out of the earth. There was a foul stench that came from everywhere. Plates of five-star food, left uneaten, piled on every surface. There was something floating around in front of her, like faint wisps of cigarette smoke. Only there was no scent of tobacco; or anything else.

She saw him reclining in his chair. She gasped when she saw him, but smothered it instantly. She had seen him just after the Ring had appeared. He had seemed… charged. As though the ring had left him lit from within with a dark energy.

But times had changed. The energy was still there in his burning black eyes… but it was almost the only thing left of him. He had always been stooped, wrinkled; with sort of a rat-like face. But now his skin was ashen grey, and his black eyes were sunken in. He hadn't been eating the food, but his teeth were yellowed. It was very much the appearance of a zombie.

"Can you feel it, Bligh?" Stumm hummed, like he was a million miles away. "Because I can. The dice are rolling, the chips are falling, the wave is crashing… It's beautiful." He laughed like nails on a chalkboard. "What brings you by?"

"The Board has been asking when we're having another Board Meeting."

"I'm quite sure they aren't. Try again." He said easily.

"Sir, did you authorize a black op in Zambia?" Bligh asked. "Water management?"

"Yes." Stumm couldn't care less.

"In Kwame Deka's hometown, no less." Bligh observed. She decided to push her luck. "So, the water is… Bait?"

"No. Bait is unimportant."

"Then why?" Bligh asked, honestly curious. "We've run the numbers. Making the water more affordable gave us a much wider consumer base in that part of the world. They can't afford water, they leave. If there was a way to increase profits further, you know we would have done it the second the Planeteers turned their backs."

Stumm looked over. "You remember, a few years ago, some Russian billionaire started throwing his money out the window? Cold hard cash. He just tossed it in the street. They asked him why, and he said that he liked to watch the people fight over the bills. All that money, and he just wanted to watch people claw at each other for his crumbs." He looked at her, and she felt that shiver again. "Think it was boredom, or pure malice?"

Bligh decided that was enough, and turned to go.

"Bligh, your job is to keep things like this a secret. Whoever talked about the Op where you could overhear, take care of it, will you?"

"Yessir."

* * *

"So what do we do, boss?" Mal asked as she came back in. It was clear he'd seen everything.

Bligh pushed him out of her chair, and sat down, looking over the city of New York. It was a bright sunny day. It seemed a world away from where she had just been. She hadn't noticed it at the time, but in Stumm's office, the sun wasn't shining. "I was wrong. He's not Saurman. He's Gollum. He's even got the Ring to prove it."

"Then who, in this story, is Sauron?" Mal pressed.

"Good question. But I remember how the book ended." Bligh was unreadable. "I need information."

"Don't know where you plan to get it."

"The only people on earth who can offer some." She said plainly. "Part of the Water Heist is to blackout communications on the subject, right?"

"Right."

"Let one call through."

* * *

The image was a shot taken from Hope Island. Everyone knew the setting by now. Every time there was a transmission, it went viral. This time, the one to speak was Kwame.

"Years ago, just after Hope Island, I spoke to the United Nations." Kwame addressed those watching. "I spoke to the politicians for less than five minutes, and the people outside for over an hour. I told them that we couldn't expect governments and politics to be the solution. I told you that we couldn't expect others to fix the problem. We had to do it ourselves. All of us. If our Leaders won't lead, or for that matter, won't follow, then it's not a sign that we can't do anything. It's a sign that we're the only ones that will. More than ever, find reason to hope in yourselves." He paused. "And if you don't see yourselves as doing something, then it really doesn't matter who you voted for. I see people losing hope, even as more people than ever get busy, and actually start making achievements for once. The momentum is finally starting to build; and this is the point where you want to give up?"

He paused for a long moment, and finally made his closing argument.

"How many times have you heard us say it?" He asked. "We've been trying to tell you this since the first time you heard the word 'Planeteer'. We never once told you that the power belonged to Governments, or to Industries, or to anyone else. If what you see on television makes you despair; then you've missed the point of the Planeteers completely. So we'll say it again, and again, and again: **The Power is Yours!** "

* * *

With Kwame's first video, the World Tour began again, gathering attention, teaching and reassuring, warning and motivating all at once.

Each Campaign worked largely the same way. A Planeteer would show up at a relevant place, and wait to be recognized. A small crowd would gather, everyone pointing their cameras within seconds, and the videos would go viral within the hour.

Wheeler had the next speech. "In the last year, research that includes the words 'Climate Change' have been actively removed from several US government grants and departments, fearing political and financial reprisal. But these programs have already been taken over by European nations. Studies say that China and India have made massive changes, enough to offset even the gridlock in the United States." Wheeler smirked. "Imagine if all three were together on this."

There was a dark murmur at his words.

"When we started the first Campaign, we made the point that we were trying to overturn entrenched thinking." Wheeler declared. "Well, that battle is done. Minds have been changed. The majority of people are now squarely on the right side of this debate. All that's left is to catch up with ourselves." He let that sink in a moment. "I'll give you an example. Hawaii is making so many solar grids, that they have to stop and let the laws catch up to them. The UK announced that 2017 was the 'greenest year for energy' in their history. Innovation and public opinion is moving faster than lawyers and politicians. No surprise there, it's been that way for decades, but the trend is still going the right way. You can speed that up, but we've gotten to the point where the message has gotten through, and that's the hardest part."

That drew applause.

"Innovation works in more than one direction. And I'll give you another example. Australia has eight states in it. One of their major states shifted to forty percent wind power, but weather meant that the steady flow of power was unreliable. Opponents used this as proof that renewables didn't work, in a country that gets two thirds of its energy from coal. Within a hundred days, Tesla Inc brought the world's biggest battery station online; and now power can be stored and used within a fraction of a second of the wind deciding not to blow. Technology, government, and business, all working together for once. They got the problem fixed in a hundred _days_."

Stronger applause this time.

"This point has gotten across at last: If Leaders won't take charge at the global level, then the local level will. St Louis has set a target of 100% Renewables. Wind power has already surpassed Coal Power in Texas, and California is currently paying other states to help produce solar utilities, because they just can't keep up. They're sending solar-produced power to Arizona and other states regularly. Currently, California is getting a third of all it's power from renewables, and has proposed legislation to get 100% by 2045. A goal that can be easily met in half the time, given current trends. Under a federal government that refutes Climate Change, more American coal plants and mines have closed in 2018 than in the last President's entire first term. And that's good to know, since in the USA, Solar Energy already employs 77% more people than Coal."

A laugh rang out at that.

"At the Federal Level, the USA is now the only country to reject the Paris Climate Agreement." Wheeler said darkly. "That's not good, but if there's one thing you should have learned from the Planeteers by now, it's this: This is not an American Problem, and certainly not one that requires an American Solution. Canada now gets two thirds of its energy from Clean Sources. Germany is now at 85% renewables. Taiwan is aiming to eliminate disposable plastic products by 2030. IKEA, of all people, are talking about selling solar panels at cost in their Australian stores. The UK gained more power last year from Wind and Solar than they did from Nuclear; resulting in the lowest carbon footprint they've had since 1890. Israel is aiming to eliminate coal, gasoline, and diesel by the same year. Denmark and Scotland have already gone into surplus from Wind Power alone, able to sell their extra energy to other countries, they're generating so much."

Stronger applause this time.

"I've been hearing a lot of chatter from people who feel like the world is going off the rails. And it is, but you don't control the world. You control your little piece of it, and you're responsible as far as your voice can be heard. If you can't change what your country is doing, then what about your house? Your street? Your local council? Your nearest park? Despair does nothing. It never has."

There was agreement, but muted this time.

"I know, that sounds like a cliche. But look at the news from the last few months. Climate change, sexual assault, guns in schools. The next generation has stopped waiting for someone else to speak. A politician is someone who tells you why something hasn't been done so far. A leader is someone who can show you how to do it right now; and those people are everywhere. And that's the choice you have to make. To be a leader; even if only your house follows. **The Power Is Yours!** "

* * *

"More than 60% of the world's wildlife is estimated to have been killed since 1970. It is estimated that a hundred species of animal go extinct every 24 hours." Ma-Ti said. "And nowhere in the world is it more obvious than here at the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. By all accounts, the Reef is close to dead, as the ocean warms up. What was a thriving tourist spot, and one of the proudest credits to the country, is now a graveyard."

There was a murmur of agreement. Ma-Ti had summoned everyone in range, and they were all assembled, listening to him.

"Despite that, research teams have already had success with transplanting hardier corals from warmer waters to this area. After eight months, it's still thriving. Other teams are also experimenting with 3D printed Coral that can serve as a habitat for all the species driven away by the death of the Reefs. The Island nations of Seychelles has converted fifteen percent of its territory into a conservation site, specifically to protect southern water species from overfishing and climate damage."

* * *

The next clip was Gi, in China.

"Construction has begun on Liuzhou Forest City." Gi declared. "It will be the first Forest City in China. When it's finished, it will house residential areas and city works, but it will also host over a million plants, and forty thousand trees. It's a city designed specifically for renewable energy, self sufficiency, and for making a space where humans and nature are interdependent. Projections say the plants in this city will take ten thousand tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere annually." She smiled. "This, from the country that could barely _see_ the Beijing Games."

Those that came to attend applauded.

"You like that? Here's some more good news for you." Gi smiled broadly. "China has also opened the world's largest air purifier. At a hundred meters tall, it has produced more than three hundred and fifty million cubic feet of clean air, and counting. Because of the design, this happens naturally by the heating and convection of air via greenhouses. Ten square kilometers, getting cleaner air at the cost of almost no power. And they hope to build one five times that size in the future."

More applause.

"Even more recently, China has assigned sixty thousand troops from its armies to plant trees. Specifically to fight air pollution, China is going to plant enough trees to create a forest the size of Ireland, by the end of 2018. And they need it to. In 2015, the air was so bad, that 1.6 million people per year were dying. And now, after four decades of becoming the biggest carbon culprit on the planet, China has passed a new block of laws to become one of the world leaders in production electric vehicles, and in making the shift to renewables."

A cheer went up.

"And that's just here in China." Gi continued. "Google, as a company, is now powered completely by sun and wind power. Their investments in renewables means that within eighteen months, they'll be putting as much power into the grid as they're using. The biggest creator of new technology on the planet will offset everything they use. They can do this, because globally, the price of wind and solar has crashed. Solar is now the cheapest form of energy production on the planet. Think about that for a second. It is cheaper to power something by solar than anything else. This, in a year where most developed nations were spending four dollars to subsidise fossil fuels for every dollar spent on renewables."

More applause, this time stronger.

Gi smiled. "You've heard what Wheeler said about turning over entrenched thinking. Well, here's the proof: It now costs a US Taxpayer four times as much to invest in coal and oil, as it does in Solar. If Renewables become the norm through sheer cost-effectiveness, we'll have to stop calling clean energy the 'alternative' power source. It's becoming the norm. This was done in spite of governments. This was done by you guys. **The Power Is Yours!** "

* * *

"When I first became a Planeteer, I flew over the Aral Sea." Linka told her own audience, this time in Europe. "The Aral Sea was the forth largest freshwater source in the world, but the Soviets diverted the headwaters for agriculture. The salt content rose, and everything in that water died; and with it, all industry, employment, and residential territory. You'll never get a clearer demonstration of what's coming to the world. It was considered one of the worst ecological disasters in the world. Now, almost 20% of the Aral Sea is full of life again. It took millions of dollars in research and rebuilding, and there's still a long way to go; but we brought a dead place back to life. It _can_ be done."

There was a round of applause at that.

"Here in Zurich, we have the world's first operational carbon capture plant." Linka gestured at her surroundings. "Climeworks is the first global company dedicated to actually taking carbon out of the air, and returning it to the ground where it belongs." Linka declared. "A little known fact, is that Carbon Dioxide actually has commercial applications, properly collected. Zurich has the first commercial plant. Their assembly lines are creating Carbon Catchers that can take more than seven thousand tons of Carbon out of the air every year. And this is just as things stand now. Expansion is working for us at last."

Polite applause.

"The energy market is wising up. Shell, BP, and Exxon, all of which are now Corporation Subsidiaries, are calling for a tougher line on Climate Action. Remember, they aren't oil companies, they're Energy Companies. If fixing the world is cheaper and more profitable than destroying it, then why would they have a problem?" Linka declared. "For all the talk about our exposing illegal operations, The Planeteers aren't lawyers, any more than businessmen or politicians. It doesn't matter who makes the profit, or who takes the credit, or who gets the blame. It only matters who's actually doing something. So do something. Last July, India smashed the world record for planting trees. Over one and a half million people gathered together and planted fifty million trees in a single day. If you'd been there, how many would you have planted? For that matter, how many can you plant where you live right now? The Power Is Yours!"

* * *

"Lake Chad has dried up." Kwame said grimly to the camera. "It was the size of Maryland, and fifty years, it has shrunk by 90%. This lake was one of the largest bodies of water in Africa, and now more than seven million people risk starvation; just in this one spot. We're being warned about the effects of Climate Change, but skeptics like to tell you that it won't happen for a hundred years. But we're there already."

Kwame paused, adjusted the camera little, and kept going.

"Cape Town is the first major metropolis to run out of water. Day Zero is almost a certainty at this point. By July, four million people will have to line up under armed guard for drinking water. The conditions here aren't that much worse than Southern California, Australia, large parts of Asia and South America… In a matter of months, the residents here will have to live on 25 litres. The amount used in an average shower of four minutes." Kwame looked heavily at the parched earth around him. "According to the UN, five billion people will be at risk of this within thirty years."

There was no audience for him, but he paused to let that sink in. He'd be able to edit in footage of the water riots to go with it.

"We've been experiencing the effects for decades. This is the result of doing nothing in my father's day. But we're sure doing something now. In-" Kwame's phone started ringing. With a sigh, he reached out and stopped the recording as she checked the screen. "Natali? This is a surprise."

"Kwame, thank god." Natali said desperately. "At first, I wasn't sure it was a problem, and then when I decided I had to make sure, the police were no help; and I didn't know if calling you would-"

"Whoa, slow down." Kwame told her, putting the camera away. "What's wrong?"

"It's my brother. He's missing."

* * *

 _AN: And, here we go again! A double-length opening chapter for you all. I had planned to make the Power is Yours Campaign part of the next chapter, but I decided I had to post it first, and I'll tell you why:_

 _Over the past year, I've gotten half a dozen PM's from various readers, asking me to write another Planeteer story. What struck me was that each and every one of them had the same underlying reason: We Need Hope._

 _For all those who feel that way, I will say this: I've had to rewrite this chapter three times; because I kept finding new things to add. Good news, and bad. Don't think the fight is being lost. If anything, it's finally going the other way._

 _Hope for the Environment has taken a battering in the last year. So this story is all about reasons to stay hopeful, and more importantly, to stay busy._

 _I also want to apologize for taking so long. It takes a while to get 75,000 words together, and other projects, (including original writing and self publishing) took up a lot of my free time. Check out my blog, or run a Google Search for the phrase "Stream Of Consciousness: The Ark-Hive" to find out where I've been._


	2. Gauntlet

_**AN** : When I wrote Heroes For Earth, I only listed Kwame's homeland as 'Africa'. It got me a few pointed comments about Africa being a continent and not a country. Truth was, I couldn't figure out the right country to place him in. I made Kwame a Miner, from a drought-stricken, economically depressed community... and it was hard to figure out where in Africa to place his hometown, given that I've never been there. I had the same problem with Linka and Ma-Ti. For Kwame, I actually thought about inventing a country. By the time I figured a few locations out, I had already finished the first tale; and honestly just wanted to publish it. Kwame's home community would have been mentioned by name about twice, and affected the overall plot only barely. Now that I've had some time to search further, I picked Zambia, though I've never been there either. If I got some of the details wrong, I apologize. Remember, this is also a Corporation-Run world._

* * *

Kwame hadn't been back to Zambia in almost a year. The last time was during the 'Power is Yours'Tour, when he had spoken in the streets of the cities and towns where he had grown up. Gi had come with him then, helping show people how to set up water distillers that could collect condensation.

The closest he had come was his video message from Lake Chad, and he received a call to stop by. Times had changed, and no shortage of the credit had gone to the Planeteers. But that was two years ago, and as Wheeler drove the jeep, following the GPS, Kwame looked out the window and the streets he knew, and felt a wave of guilt.

Things had changed in the area around his town. The Mission where his sister had been treated for AIDS was still running, and it had been upgraded significantly since its connection to the Deka family had become public knowledge. Kwame had spent his free time planting tree cuttings in the area beyond the town; and apparently word had gotten out. In the time away, thousands more trees had been planted. A waist-high forest, named after himself.

Kwame had seen more than a few drawings of himself in the murals. He was depicted as carrying the whole earth; with the others around him to help, and all the kids in the town around them in a circle.

Kwame had never been comfortable as the natural leader of the Planeteers. Being 'The Hometown Hero' was a little harder still.

Gi was beside him. His girlfriend had been leaning against him since landing the Geo-Cruiser; dozing for most of the drive. She'd been their pilot. Linka was fast asleep. She'd been their engine.

Kwame did what he always did when worried about something. He put his arm around Gi and stroked her hair for a while. She nuzzled into him more without waking up, and he felt his heartrate slow automatically. Kwame had always been a fairly tranquil sort, but somehow, she made that part of him better.

This time however, she woke up, reading the tension in his frame. She watched him for a moment. "I read a story that says Paris is starting a new initiative." She said quietly. "Remember in 2016? They launched 'Parisculteurs'?"

Kwame seemed to have to fight to focus on her. "Turn the city landscape into gardens, right?"

"Rooftops, walls... They wanted the city to have a hundred hectares of green. They've revised that to turn a third of it into urban farming."

"Sounds nice." Kwame nodded. "Y'know, we've never been to Paris."

"Mm." Gi leaned into him a little closer. "So. What are you actually thinking about?" She whispered, not waking Linka.

"I was thinking about the last time we were here." Kwame said quietly. "You, showing those kids how to collect water."

"A cup full at best."

"Maybe it wasn't much, but it was the only water source that didn't have outrageous Corporation tariffs included." Kwame said. "Remember those men who came after us?"

"Yeah, I figured they were…"

"Gi, in this part of Zambia, there were some Corporation Holdings, as well as outright criminals that demanded tribute to anyone who wanted to draw water from the wells, or from the tankers that rolled through during the drought. Ma-Ti ran the enforcers out, and suddenly the people here? Their cost of living has been… survivable for almost a year."

She squeezed his hand. "Something no politician or captain of industry has been able to do in years." She kissed his cheek. "You did a lot of good for the people you grew up with, Kwame. If they need us to do it again, we will. It's why we're here."

* * *

The Jeep drove to an area outside the city, arriving after dark. Ma-Ti stepped out of the Jeep first, and gestured. "She's over there."

The other Planeteers stepped out, stretching from the long trip. Kwame wandered over first, and found Natali hiding in the darkest corner she could find. "Kwame?" She wavered. "Oh thank god!" She came out and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "I didn't know who else to call."

"You called the right person." Kwame broke the hug, concerned for her. "Now, what happened?"

"The wells dried up last week." Natali reported. "Not unusual in itself, the drought has been going for a long time. But this is different. The tankers came, but…"

"I thought the drought was easing here." Gi commented, coming to stand with Kwame. "We've been monitoring weather patterns. Rainfall's been borderline normal in this country for the last five months."

"Don't know what to tell you, Gi; the well is dry. They all are." Natali insisted.

Kwame looked at her carefully. "There's something else."

Natali nodded. "My brother has been working with the Planeteer Foundation for a while. The Foundation in this country has been working hard on tracking resources that their members can get renewably. Water is one of them." She bit her lip. "Matali spoke to me five days ago. He said that the water tankers rolled into the town square within an hour of the wells running dry. That's a lot faster than usual. You remember how it was?"

Kwame nodded. "Yes, I remember."

"I said it was a good thing. The number of times they made us wait until there was a borderline riot about to break out…" Natali shook her head. "Kwame, my brother was convinced that they knew, ahead of time, that the wells would dry up."

"Were they over-charging again?" Kwame guessed. "Looking to take advantage of the water shortage?"

"That's the thing, Kwame. They didn't over-charge. They didn't even ration it." Natali said seriously. "Who, in this town, gives away as much water as possible during a shortage? Because it's not anyone we know."

"For that matter, where did they get it to give away, in the middle of a drought?" Kwame frowned. "Did Matali have any theories on where the water came from?"

Natali looked worried. "I haven't heard from my brother since that phone call. Five days ago."

Kwame nodded. "We're on it. Do you have somewhere safe to be tonight?"

"I've been staying at the Foundation. They know me and my brother there, because of our connection to you. It's safer than anywhere else in town."

"Then go there. I'll be in touch."

* * *

Gi had mapped the groundwater the last time they had visited the country. The Geo-Cruiser wasn't the easiest thing to land, so they took the Jeep.

"The tankers usually harvested from the river before it settled. Running water is cleaner than stillwater." Kwame told the rest of his team. "But when the river suddenly stopped flowing…"

Wheeler pulled the Jeep to a halt. "Well, there it is. I think we can assume there isn't a secret river anywhere around here."

Kwame climbed out of the Jeep to the dry riverbed. "The clay is hard. The sun baked the mud solid days ago. Which means the river hasn't dropped to a trickle; it's actually stopped."

Gi pointed her flashlight up the riverbed. "Well, the way to find out is upstream. Or where upstream was when the water was running."

They got back in the Jeep and drove as far up as they could, before the terrain changed, and they had to continue on foot.

"I'm just saying, this is Africa. It's hot." Wheeler commented, not for the first time. "We're traveling with someone who can make it rain, or can conjure a breeze from nowhere. Why don't we have our own private Air Conditioning when we're walking around a place like this?"

"Wheeler, you're a Flame-Caster." Linka drawled. "Are you seriously telling me you're overheated?"

"Always, when you're around, babe."

"Gi, do me a favor and dump a cold shower on Wheeler."

"This is it." Kwame reported. "This is where the river came from."

Gi jumped down, and shifted her way between the rocks. "It's an underground aquifer… The cavern opens out a fair way; so there must have been some pretty serious water pressure back there. It's take something serious to stop it all at once."

"Cave in?"

Gi shut her eyes a moment, as if listening. "I can… I don't quite know how to say this. I can feel the water. It's still in there. Whatever stopped this river, it wasn't the drought." She looked back at the team. "Not that I thought it was. The rainfall is almost normal in this area."

"Well if something else stopped the water, we better work it out." Kwame said firmly. "We're coming up on planting season. If the farmers to the east can't irrigate their crops, my hometown dies, starved out in another six months. To say nothing of the inevitable refugee problem."

Wheeler jumped down to the totally dry riverbed, and looked through the rocks himself. "I think it's wide enough for us to walk in."

"Ohh, that'll be fun." Linka said darkly.

"Claustrophobic?" Wheeler guessed.

Linka set her jaw. "Of course not." She said stoically. "I just don't feel like hearing all the 'tight quarters' jokes you're certain to make in there."

"Oh." Wheeler nodded brightly. "Well, just so you know, if you had an actual problem, I would never make fun of it. But, since you aren't claustrophobic, I'll feel free to keep the troops entertained as always. It's our bit."

Linka set her jaw. "Well, you've put me in a bit of a bind there, Yankee."

Kwame rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, I so love our road trips." He commented. "Linka, as it happens, we're not likely to need wind power while hiking through an underground cavern, so if you'd rather work elsewhere, there's another mission."

"Your friend Matali." Linka nodded. "I'll find him, Kwame."

"Ma-Ti, go along." Kwame directed. "Of the five of us, you're the most useful for search and rescue, plus; you may need to question a few people." He glanced at Gi. "Obviously, water and earth powers are the best choice for searching an underground cavern for lost water."

"What about me, coach?" Wheeler asked lightly.

"You stay with us." Kwame told him. "You and Linka wind each other up too much."

* * *

"I wish I knew how your little translation trick worked, Ma-Ti." Linka commented, also not for the first time. "We need you so that we can understand each other, but it doesn't matter if we split up?"

Ma-Ti didn't seem concerned, though he never did. "The Power of Heart is one that all people have; in a way that nobody ever will over fire and water. It connects me across life, but life is not static. The energy flows from plant to animal to insect to plant."

"That's not energy, Ma-Ti; that's the food chain." Linka pointed out as they returned to the Jeep. "Somehow, I don't think communication is an issue along the food chain."

* * *

It was slow going.

The river that used to run from the underground aquifer was wide, but not tall. The three Planeteers had to creep along under the tight spots, while Kwame checked every second for stability, and Gi listened intently to her sixth sense for water.

Wheeler held the torch, inching along between them. "This can't be the smartest move." He complained. "Why don't we go overland? Drill down when we get to the right spot? Kwame can open a stairwell in the ground if he wants."

"Wheeler, we're trying to figure out why the water stopped. Above this whole area is farmland, part of the village. If the cause is near the headwaters, then we may not find the right spot. If it's down this end, then we can open it back up before anyone knows we're here. Either way, I don't want to tear open the ground in too many places."

"Kwame, if the water's being blocked or diverted, we don't want to find it while we're under the river!"

"I can handle that." Gi promised. "Besides, if it gets bad, Kwame can make a staircase between here and the surface just as easily from underneath."

* * *

Linka had left the interrogations up to Ma-Ti. In a small African town, a tall Russian Blonde stood out far too much, even without being a global celebrity. Even so, it was Kwame's hometown, so the locals had an easier time of it than most communities would. The Planeteers were a huge point of pride.

But Linka had lived enough half-truths to know when someone was hiding something, and getting the rest of the story was Ma-Ti's department.

"Matali was here." Ma-Ti reported. "He believed that someone was messing with the town water supply. He had been looking for maps of the groundwater, looking for places where it could be accessed from the surface."

"What did he find?"

"Deka Mining." Ma-Ti said grimly. "That's why nobody will talk to us about all of it. Having Kwame be from this area is a huge source of pride. Having the first Recorded instance of a Planeteer exposing a Chemical Waste Dump in the place where a third of the town worked? Much less so."

Linka nodded. "What did Matali find there?"

"Nobody knows. The Mine has been shut down for months."

Linka nodded. "Then we'll have to go in ourselves."

* * *

The cavern had opened up dramatically. Kwame looked up and let out a breath. "Oh no."

"Two syllables everyone loves to hear while a hundred feet underground." Wheeler commented.

Kwame pointed up at the top of the cavern. A circle of moonlight was visible. "It's a well. This area is where the town drew water when the the Aquifer was still good. The ground has opened up so much more than I thought. This cavern shouldn't be here."

"What does that mean for the town?" Gi asked, worried. "Does that mean the ground isn't stable for them?"

"That's exactly what it means." Kwame agreed. "I think I can bring the bedrock up to solidify the weakpoints, but… If we plan to restore the river, that might just change it's course, and I don't know what happens then."

Gi nodded. "There is water here. An ocean of it, I'm certain. It's up further in."

* * *

Nobody challenged them as they reached the mine. The chains on the front gate had rusted. Linka found a weak spot in the fence and pulled the wire back for them to climb through. "This Mine belonged to Kwame's father. He told me once that he regret exposing the chemical dumping before he left. Everyone lost their jobs and he got a tropical island."

"Their job was to mine out metals. If the Mine is dry, they would have lost out anyway." Ma-Ti countered. "Unless you think that all of them would have been willing to look the other way for the paycheck."

"All of them? I don't know. Enough to make it work, probably."

Ma-Ti didn't roll his eyes the way others would. He didn't scoff or chuckle, or put on a sarcastic tone. But it was clear he didn't approve of that answer. "You don't give enough credit to people, Linka. You assume the worst in people too often."

"Not assume, just prepare."

"What about yourself?" Ma-Ti asked.

Linka looked back at him, truly surprised by that. "What?"

"Wheeler doesn't understand why you're so hard on him, but he doesn't see that you're harder on yourself." Ma-Ti tapped his temple. "He can't see what I do. You've set a ridiculous standard for yourself and how much you should be doing. And if you won't forgive yourself for failing to do the impossible, what hope for others?"

"I don't want to talk about this right now." Linka said shortly, but a flush was creeping up her neck. "We're looking for…" She sniffed. "Smell that?"

"Ashes." Ma-Ti nodded. "That building over there."

The whole mine was empty, no people, no vehicles. Someone had come in and smashed out the windows, picked clean the yard. They followed the smell of smoke, until they found a room on the lowest floor of the Administration Building. The Admin was a large building, and the smell was coming from one room only.

Linka went in a broken window and made her way into the room. "The whole place is beyond scorched… But there's not so much as a footprint in the ash across the hallway, the windowsill… whoever did this didn't leave the room."

"Someone got caught in their own fire?"

Linka shook her head. "No. Look at the ash, it's powder white. This wasn't a fire, this was… I don't want to use the word 'magma', but…" She waved a hand around. "Look. There's absolutely nothing left. No scorched furniture, no charred remains. This wasn't just to cover something up, and it certainly wasn't a cookout gone wrong, or a case of vandalism. The fire didn't even eat into the walls; or the building would have come down."

"A fire that burns unnaturally hot without going an inch further that this spot." Ma-Ti agreed. "Y'know, if I didn't know better, I'd think that Wheeler did this."

Linka knelt down and rubbed the powdery ash between her fingers. "No. Not Wheeler. Not just because he wouldn't do it… I honestly don't believe he could make a fire _get_ this hot. Not without three of us feeding his Ring Force. This was a full on solar flare."

Ma-Ti bent down also. He was listening to something only he could hear. "Kwame's friend Matali vanished a week ago, right? He was investigating the latest scam to hit this area, and he came here? Because I notice that this room gives him an excellent view of the yard, the road, any vehicles that may come in…"

Linka went still. "Yeah, yeah it does, doesn't it?"

"We better make a call." Ma-Ti nodded.

"We'd never get reception if Kwame's still underground."

"No, not Kwame." Ma-Ti gestured around the room.

* * *

"You made the right choice, calling me." Lizzie Quinn told them sagely. "Anytime it looks like someone with your kind of juju is doing something that could get you in trouble, I'm your first call. But just between us, I don't think this is a setup. It's been tried before, and failed. Nobody would buy it a second time, if the first time didn't work."

"That was our conclusion as well, but the thing is… We're looking for a friend of Kwame, and we honestly don't know what to tell him. There wouldn't be any trace left, if he was in this room."

"Well, I can't help you there; I'm your Agent, not a cop." Lizzie answered. "But just between us, if you can't sort out the water problem, you've got a much bigger press problem than a missing person."

Linka looked at the phone in her hand in disbelief. "How do you know about that already?"

"Sources, pretty lady, sources." Lizzie said brightly. "Don't worry about getting the blame, just get out of there before someone sees you."

"Mm." Linka agreed. "The less time we spend here the better, besides, I think we know why Matali was watching this spot."

Just then, Ma-Ti came in. "You were right. The mine is reopened. There's nobody there now, but it looks like someone's been using it to get underground."

"More chemical dumping?" Linka guessed.

"I hope not. If Gi's right about the water still being down there somewhere, the water table is way too close."

"Let's check it out." Linka said without hesitation. "There must be a map of the tunnels around somewhere."

* * *

"You know, this is going to sound strange, but I'd swear I've been down here before." Kwame said finally. They had been following the caverns for almost half an hour, heading the same direction.

"Tell me that we're not going in circles." Wheeler said darkly. "Because frankly, this is starting to worry me."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Gi commented. "We should have found something by now. And frankly, if this was a horror movie, this is where the flashlight would go out."

"Not an issue with Wheeler here." Kwame chuckled. "But I'm serious, ever since the cavern started branching, this is starting to feel awfully familiar, but I can't place why."

"I think I can help you with that."

"YAH!" All three of them jumped and spun to see Linka and Ma-Ti coming into the tunnels to join them.

"Where did you come from?" Gi demanded, hand over her heart.

"We were looking for Matali." Linka reported. "He was trying to figure out where the river went, and apparently wound up at your old mine."

Kwame practically slapped his forehead. "That's why this feels familiar! I've been down here before!"

"Not quite here." Linka held up the map she had taken. "Someone forced their way back into the tunnels. We've been following them, and we found that the map is wrong." Linka pointed back the way they had come. "This tunnel is new. So's the cavern. Someone dug a full half mile to get this far in."

"They were heading for the water table." Gi breathed. "This is it, I'm sure of it."

She led the way to the end of the cavern, and rested her hand on the wall of stone. "It's here. The water."

Kwame looked around. "This stone is too… solid. There's no imperfections in the layers. It's like a cliff wall. The whole rock is a single piece." He shook his head, borderline awed. "This isn't right. If we hit this when we mining, we'd just give up and go elsewhere. We ran probes all through this area looking for new veins. This should not be here!"

"I'll go you one better." Wheeler called from the other end of the rock wall. "It's braced." He kicked at what looked like a pile of rocks. They sounded hollow. "It's faked, to look like a natural part of the cave, but this rock wall is bracing the top of the cavern, and against the surrounding walls. This 'cliff wall' of yours is holding up a quarter of your home town."

Gi still had a hand flat against the rock. "And holding back a full sized river, too. This isn't a cave-in. It's a dam."

Linka bit her lip. "If I didn't know better, I'd think Kwame might have put it here."

"I don't know if I could make this big a piece of solid rock lift into place." Kwame admitted.

"Yeah, well… We found a room that had been torched at the Mine. The burn pattern said it was Wheeler, but the fire was way too hot for anything I've ever seen him conjure up."

"Another frame up?" Wheeler guessed.

"My first thought too, but Lizzie says that's a non-starter." Linka nodded. "Our second thought was that someone was dumping again, but we came from the mine. That gate is locked up, the chain hasn't moved in months. Ma-Ti and I needed to find a hole in the fence."

Kwame looked hard at Linka. "You were looking for Matali?"

Linka sighed. "I won't lie to you, Kwame. There was no sign of anyone in the room, but… The look of the place? The fire might have been hot enough that there wouldn't be one."

Kwame absorbed that, and turned back to the dam. "We have to bring this down."

Wheeler shook his head. "Bad idea, fearless leader. Look at the braces. They're hooked into every bedrock vein in the cavern; and an empty mine isn't the most solid bit of ground to start with. You wondered why the cavern had spread out so far, now you know. They were tunneling."

"The mine isn't supposed to be anywhere near the town." Kwame hissed. "What can dig through half a mile without leaving any trace of equipment, and without anyone noticing?" He paused. "Well, other than me."

"I don't know, but the cavern is here now." Wheeler said. "We bring the dam down, we'd collapse everything above us with it. To say nothing of the water suddenly coming through. We bring that much rock on top of that much water, we'll demolish half of what's above."

"That's a lot of the town, plus the farmland, the Mission where my sister died…" Kwame bit his lip. "This is bad. And it may not be the sort of bad that we can fix."

"We can." A voice intoned.

The Planeteers spun and found they were not alone. Four figures walked in, wearing what looked like matching uniforms. They also wore grey cloaks, and full face riot masks. It was impossible to tell anything but their height. They had no identifying marks of any kind… and they all wore silver gauntlets on their left hand. The Gauntlets was also identical, extending from wrist to elbow, and each one had a brightly colored jewel. Red, green, dark blue, and light blue so pale it was almost white. It was a color scheme that the Planeteers recognized instantly.

"Who the hell are you?" Wheeler asked, his Ring-hand already balling into a defensive fist.

"We're the future." Gauntlet-Red said. All their voices were digitized, to be impossible to recognize.

"Does the future have a name?" Linka countered. "Or a face?"

"We have a mission." Gauntlet-White told her. "That's all we need. It was all you needed too, Planeteers. But apparently that wasn't enough for you."

"We'll take it from here." Gauntlet-Green declared. "You may go."

"No, that won't be happening." Kwame said politely. "Once again, who are you?"

Gauntlet-Green glanced to Gauntlet-White, and the conversation was instantly over. The one with the White-Blue jewelled Gauntlet made a raised fist, and instantly the cavern was filled with a savage wind. Linka felt her feet leave the ground and was about to summon her own powers to fight back, when she heard the sound of rocks falling and collapsing, and suddenly she was in moonlight again.

The Planeteers dropped, slamming facedown into the dirt, stunned at the instant speed with which things had changed. Gi had a flash of a mini-tornado exploding up from a crack in the earth, before it went out.

Kwame was up first, running to the edge of the hole in the ground. The four figures were still down there, standing before the stone wall. Gauntlet-Green Raised his fist, and the stone wall suddenly cracked, as though struck right down the middle with some unseen force. Kwame felt his jaw drop as water came pouring out from the space between.

In no particular hurry, the four figures came closer together, and the ground swelled beneath their feet, listing them up like an elevator through the opening they had made.

Below, the rock wall splintered and shattered completely, and a torrent of rushing water came pouring out. Kwame felt the ground shift beneath him. "What have you done?!" He demanded of the four of them.

"We restored the River." Gauntlet-Red said coldly, already walking away.

Linka took a step to chase. "Hey, we're not done with y-"

"Linka, not now!" Kwame shouted. "Ma-Ti, wake everyone up! The whole town! The ground is-"

"Too late!" Wheeler pointed.

Three streets over, the ground was starting to collapse, houses caving into the ground. The rumble grew louder and louder, with the roar of rushing water rising to meet it. To the west, they could hear the Mine collapsing into a wave.

The Planeteers just stared as street after street started caving in, falling into the ground, which became thick with mud and rock.

Wheeler had no idea where to start saving people. "What do we do, Kwame?"

"Get everyone we can out of the danger zone and to the east! Away from the mine! Hurry!"

* * *

It was a losing battle. Ma-Ti could get people moving in the right direction, but so many were already trapped and half buried. Kwame could force the ground to stay still long enough to work as a footbridge to safer areas, but there was only one of him. Wheeler could light their path in the middle of the night, and flash-bake the racing mud long enough to get people past the unpredictable currents as the earth churned and spun.

But it was all a losing battle, and more than a third of Kwame's Hometown was gone before they could get the people out.

With nothing more that they could do, the Planeteers helped with the cleanup in their way, waiting for emergency crews to arrive. Wheeler made a few calls to people they knew and got the relief moving faster. Kwame talked to his former neighbors, who were already making plans for the next day.

* * *

"Most of them will stay here." Kwame reported. "The river is running again. That means the agriculture will be back to full strength. If there's water, there's still hope; and even with a third of the town gone, two thirds of everything they know is still intact. More than they can say about starting over somewhere else."

Gi nodded. "Well, I guess that makes sense, as far as-"

"Who The Hell Were Those People?!" Linka growled, like she'd been physically stopping herself from saying it the whole night. "They had powers! Like ours!"

"Not like ours." Wheeler said. "We've been saying it all night: I couldn't make a fire that hot, Kwame couldn't control a rock wall that thick… And Linka, I know you can create a mini-tornado strong enough to lift us all, but that fast, and that precise, and tearing a hole through thirty feet of ground to do it?"

Linka looked down and nodded, conceding the point. "They don't have powers like ours, they're much stronger."

Wheeler nodded. "Does that scare the crap out of you, babe? Because I'm freaking out over here."

Linka nodded. "I'm not liking it in a major way." She looked to Ma-Ti. "Say something!"

Ma-Ti looked to her. "There were four of them. Where was the Fifth?"

Linka blinked, realizing he was right. It wasn't hard to figure out that the Gauntlets matched their Rings, but Ma-Ti's golden ring had no opposite number. Not that they had seen.

Kwame looked sick. "I have to find Natali, tell her what we think happened to her brother."

Gi took his hand at once. "I'm going with you."

"We'll…" Wheeler started to say, and then stopped. He had no idea what to do next.

"We'll get the Geo-Cruiser ready." Linka put in. "Just in case."

Kwame was already rehearsing what he'd say to Natali.

* * *

"You have a body?" Was Natali's first question.

"No." Kwame admitted.

"Then I'm not worried." Natali said simply.

Kwame blinked. "Natali, I know that it may not be true, but based on what I saw, I think it's a very real possibility that your brother-"

"Oh, I'm sure; but without a body there's little for me to worry about. I won't have to arrange a funeral, or even tell his boss. He's just 'away'. The good news is, with the River restored, we can all go back to work."

Kwame blinked again. Beside him, Gi was doing the same. They had just broken some very bad news, and Natali was relieved she didn't have to bother with the funeral.

"Natali, it was you that put us onto this. It was four hours ago." Kwame said slowly, as if she'd forgotten. "As I recall, you were very worried for his safety."

"I was also worried about the town. That's taken care of now." Natali said easily. "And you say you didn't do that?"

"No, that was someone else." Gi piped up. "We're still trying to figure out who."

"Well, whoever it was, they fixed the river; so we're lucky to have them." Natali smiled. "You guys should probably head back to your island now."

Dead silence. Kwame sent Gi a look. The young woman nodded, thinking the same thing he was.

"Natali, I'd like you to come to Hope Island with us for a while." Kwame said finally.

"Ohh, thank you, Kwame." Natali smiled. "But I really should stay here. Things are happening now, and it's wonderful."

"Wonderful?" Kwame repeated. "Natali, a huge chunk of our town is _gone_!"

"I know, Kwame." Natali nodded patiently, still with that relaxed smile on her face. "You don't have to be angry about it. Things are getting better all the time."

* * *

"It was the strangest reaction I'd ever seen. My first thought was that Ma-Ti must have done something." Gi later told the tale to the others.

"We got the same thing when we were preparing the Geo-Cruiser." Linka reported. "The people we dragged out of the mudslide have lost their homes, and all they can think is how grateful they are that they've got the river back. Do they all depend on it that much? Enough that they don't even seem to notice the casualties?"

"It makes no sense to me either, Linka." Gi admitted. "And when something doesn't make sense, it usually means someone's after us again. And I'll tell you something else, the relief crews arrived before we made it halfway to the Glider. We saw them passing us. Dozens of Corporation Relief Trucks. Medical supplies, construction gear, people movers…"

"They were ready." Linka concluded. "They knew Kwame's town was about to be torn in half, and they were ready."

"It doesn't track." Gi shook her head. "The Corporation has never cared about collateral damage before. If they were trying to bait us into something, they'd have a better chance of getting away with it if they acted like they were caught off guard."

"Okay, so they aren't behind it… But they also aren't surprised." Wheeler put in.

"No." Ma-Ti said without looking at any of them. "I went and spoke to some of those drivers. They say that they came without orders. They weren't alerted, on on standby; but when the earth shook, they came immediately. They were actually here for another project."

Kwame spoke up. "Ma-Ti, that other project wouldn't be selling water, would it?"

"As a matter of fact, the drivers of the water tankers were only too happy to tell me." Ma-Ti agreed. "They were selling water to people. They didn't set the price, they didn't ask where it came from. They just collected the money."

"Those are the same people Natali warned us about." Gi said to Kwame, confused. "And now they suddenly move in to clean up? The Corporation has created disasters before, but there's no profit in a massive cleanup in a poverty stricken area; and the profits in a water scam isn't high enough to be worth the risk. I don't get it. Is this a scam, a coverup, or a coincidence?"

"And where did those people get their powers?" Wheeler put in. "Because the whole point of the Planeteers is that nobody else can do what we can do. Where did those guys come from?"

"They were masked, their voices digitized." Gi reasoned. "They didn't address the public or make any statements. That tells me that their top priority is being untraceable."

"No, it tells us that they were there for a specific mission." Linka put in. "When we take one of our more covert missions, we have to be careful about being seen before we strike, or getting noticed before we leave. These guys aren't interested in anything else that comes with being a Planeteer."

Wheeler glanced over. "Jealous?"

Linka gave him a light glare.

Gi piped up. "I'm putting an alert to Linka's parents. They'll keep an eye out for those Gauntlets. They're the only identifying part of the uniform. We don't even know if they're male or female; and they can make those costumes up wherever they land, but I'm betting those Gauntlets aren't something they can replace easily."

"I hope not." Wheeler put in grimly. "The Corporation had us prisoner on the Rig. They had the Rings long enough to study, even if they couldn't dissect it. We know Stumm is plugged into something that's on our level; and they've had a year to adapt whatever they learned."

This was a thought that had not occurred to anyone else, but it chilled them to their bones.

"If Stumm or Bligh have figured out how to create Ring Power, let alone weaponize it…" Linka didn't dare speak the rest of that thought out loud.

"No, I don't buy that either." Kwame put in. "We agreed it wasn't a trap for us, or they would have sprung it in a much more… decisively lethal way."

"Then where did those people come from?" Wheeler asked again. "And more importantly, what does it mean for us?"

"When we need to know something, we consult an expert." Kwame said placidly. "Our powers still work, Linka is using them right now; to take us to Hope Island, where we can consult the world's leading expert on Elemental Powers."

"Gaia doesn't need us to be on Hope Island for her to speak to us." Ma-Ti pointed out.

"True, but she hasn't spoken to us yet, and it's not like we have a phone number."

* * *

They came in to land at Hope Island, and found their usual welcoming committee waiting for them. Ruby came running up the dock to give Linka a hug, and Gi's parents were close behind to fuss over the rest of them.

"How's JJ?" Wheeler asked, his first question.

"In the Comms Tent, glued to the television." Yumi reported.

Wheeler turned to Linka. "Well, we could go there directly, or we could get cleaned up first."

"Best to check on your brother first. In your case, cleaning up might take a while." Linka needled.

"Hey, it's not my fault that People Magazine doesn't like anything you've worn for almost a year." Wheeler shot back. "Really, Linka; I wonder why I bother with a fashion 'don't' like you."

"Hey, of the two of us, whose fan-sites come with an 'over eighteen' warning?" She shot back.

Ruby watched the two most important role models in her young life firing quips back and forth, and then looked back to Kwame and Gi, who were walking up the beach, hand in hand, talking quietly. They looked… happy. She looked back to Linka and Wheeler, bickering and arguing all the way to the Communications tent.

Thinking a moment, she went running after Kwame and Gi.

Kwame looked down as Ruby tugged on his shirt. "Hey there."

"Can people be happy if they just keep yelling at each other all the time?" Ruby asked.

"A question that many a child your age has asked of their parents at some point." Gi quipped. "But if you mean Linka and Wheeler, then you should know there's a difference between bickering and fighting."

"All they do is argue. Why do they stay so close?" Ruby asked.

"Sometimes it's preferable to argue with someone you care about, than not talk to them at all." Gi told her.

"But fighting makes you angry, doesn't it?" Ruby complained. "Why can't they just be nice to each other?"

"Because sometimes it's harder to be nice than it is to fight. That's why being nice is so important." Kwame told her.

Ruby thought about this. "Grown ups don't have any idea what they're doing, do they?"

* * *

"Hey." JJ said without turning around. "Bad news."

"Nonono." Wheeler said gamely. "That's not how you welcome your beloved inspiration, and own personal superhero back from the field of glorious battle."

"True, but Linka doesn't like it when I fuss." JJ shot back and tried again. "Welcome back."

"Thank you." Linka and Wheeler said politely.

"Bad news." JJ continued without missing a beat. "I've been monitoring the feeds on the Power is Yours Campaign." JJ held out a tablet. "And it's not exactly doing the job."

"Good grief, is it possible that we're finally becoming boring?" Wheeler asked. "I mean, we may not be the only Planet Power in town anymore, but-."

"Wait. What does that mean?" JJ asked.

Wheeler turned to the screens and started scanning. "Has word broken about our little appearance in Zambia?"

"Yup." JJ nodded. "The people there seem pretty thrilled to have their river back."

"We noticed that, and we're happy for them, except for three things." Wheeler explained. "One, the river wasn't dry. It was dammed up. Two: half their town collapsed when the dam came down; and…" Wheeler pretended to think. "Oh yeah, we didn't do it."

Linka told him. "We ran into some people in Kwame's hometown. We're not quite sure what their deal is yet, but they have the same sort of Elemental powers we do."

"Oh." JJ nodded, as though such things happened every day. "Well, I guess there really are no new ideas in Hollywood."

It wasn't that good a joke, but Wheeler found himself smiling anyway. "I know. I mean, we had it first, before it became the hot new thing. A year from now, everyone will be using Elemental powers, and it'll like we don't even exist."

"They've been showing interviews with the locals too." JJ told them. "The water was being sold off to the locals, but at far more affordable rates than any scam."

"This wasn't a price gouging scam." Wheeler said immediately. "We all saw that rock wall. I don't know who Darth Vader's cousins were back there, but they had enough power to put it there, and take it down when they needed to."

"And they didn't bring it down until we arrived." Linka put in. "They were the ones that put it up, weren't they?"

"But why?" Wheeler asked, as upset as anyone had ever heard him. "It wasn't to make a profit from selling the water they had dammed up, or they'd have charged more. It wasn't to get famous, or they'd be on TV right now. It wasn't to attack us, or they'd have actually attacked us when we were there. They got us out of the way, brought down a third of the town, and walked away."

"Maybe that was it?" JJ asked. "By selling the water cheap, they kept everyone there, even with the river dry for so long. What if they wanted to sink the town?"

"Then it didn't work." Linka pointed at the screen. "Everyone appears to be staying, and the casualties were a lot lighter than they could have been."

Silence.

Linka looked outside. "Ma-Ti's going straight to the Mountain. He's trying to figure out where Gaia has been this whole time, and why she has nothing to say on this subject."

* * *

Ruby came into the little home she shared with Alana and fell down on her chair in a huff. "I've made a decision." The pre-teen declared profoundly. "We have to get Linka and Wheeler together."

Alana smiled a bit at the little girl's antics. "Why do you say that?"

"Because it would make Linka happy."

Alana nodded. "I agree. The problem is that Linka refuses to be happy. She thinks people who focus on being happy are wasting time."

"That's stupid." Ruby pronounced.

"I agree, but what makes you think we should do something?"

"If it was one of us being stupid and unhappy, Linka would do it to us." Ruby offered.

" _For_ us." Alana corrected. "But I agree. Leave this with me."

Ruby nodded.

* * *

Alana came over to Wheeler's hut, and knocked politely on the door to his greenhouse. "Wheeler, may we speak? A delicate matter has arisen, and I need your help with it."

Wheeler, bent over his pots, took his gloves off immediately. "Are Linka and Ruby alright?" He asked, concerned.

Alana smiled softly. "I'm glad that your first thought is concern for them. You see... " She sighed, and looked down. "Wheeler, can we speak as adults do? Man-to-Man was it were?"

Wheeler almost smirked. "Of course we can."

"Ruby has been without her family for a year now. Linka is a natural big sister, but she is… Stoic. More than she should be. It's not a personality type that is a natural fit for a parent. And if I'm perfectly honest, I'm not going to be around forever."

"Don't sell yourself short, Alana. You'll outlive all of us."

"Well, that's a very real possibility, given your day job, but that's a whole other worry that keeps an old woman awake at night. Right now we're talking about this one." Alana kept them on topic. "Ruby is… isolated, by her residence here. It's a wonderful place, but Ruby is reaching that certain age where she could use a knowledgeable and… Well, not to put too fine a point on it, someone who knows the ways of things. Someone who won't freak out when Ruby starts to ask about boys and dresses and what she should do on a date."

Wheeler flushed for a whole two seconds before he put a knowing look on his face. "You don't think Linka would take care of her?"

"Linka is fierce, but I think that you and I understand that sometimes it's best to let a heart break than swear to avenge it." Alana said knowingly. "I don't mean to cast aspersions, Wheeler; but you know the sort of things Ruby _really_ needs to watch out for."

"I've _been_ most of those things." Wheeler said frankly.

"Yes, you have. But it's clear how much you care about my Ruby, and that's what's most important. But Linka won't-" She paused and pointed a finger at him. "You won't repeat this to Linka?"

"Of course."

"Linka can offer her family and history, but not… experience. Linka had a tougher life than most, and it has isolated her some. Our village wasn't so much a town, as it was a collection of refugees. Linka was the only one her age. Within ten years of her age, in fact." Alana sighed. "As her guardian, I worried for her. There were a few men old enough to be her father who gave her the eye, but… Well, I never expected Linka to stay in that place forever, and I never could have expected the way she left."

"No." Wheeler agreed, but it was clear he was mulling that. "Did Linka ever have… I mean… Anyone?"

Alana shook her head silently, eyes locked on his. "You can see why I'm worried about Ruby coming to her with the kind of questions she just can't ask her surrogate Grandmother."

Wheeler actually looked sick. "And then… I don't know what Linka told you about the first mission, but-"

"Deveroux's little play for her on the Mobile Rig? I heard it all. I also heard that you were very quickly the most respectful gentleman on Hope Island, to the point that everyone thought you'd been replaced with a robot double."

Wheeler tried to laugh at that. "After I come onto Linka like a house on fire…"

"She could handle it; even if she didn't know how exactly to handle it. I even think she encouraged you from time to time, as she does." Alana said sagely. "If I thought for a second that you would use your superior experience to take advantage of Linka in any way, I would have cut your balls off months ago."

It came in such an easygoing tone that Wheeler almost didn't register the fact that she was deadly serious. "I understand." He said politely.

"Good! So, should I be gone, when Ruby starts to have these questions, and Linka shows her… _lack_ of experience in such matters, I can count on you to make sure she's got a safe, nurturing place to get her heart broken, and make all the mistakes a growing girl needs to make?"

"I promise, she'll be safe from guys like me." Wheeler said. "In fact... they both will."

Alana nodded. "Mm."

* * *

Alana strode up to Linka powerfully and made her case. "Linka, a delicate matter had arisen, and I need your counsel."

Linka blinked at the unexpected request. "Anything I can do, grandmother. You know that."

"I've been watching Wheeler circle you for the last few months, and… I'm sorry, but I can't give him my blessing to court you."

Linka felt her heart give a solid thud. "He's asked for it?"

"Of course not, but it's clear that if that boy had a clue what he was doing, he would." Alana sighed. "And I'm sorry, but I forbid you to pursue him romantically. It would be explosive, passionate… and far too volatile. You two can't be in a room together without risking an explosive fireball, literally. You're just too combustible; and given the nature of your work life…" She let out an epic sigh of sadness. "Please, try and let him down gently."

Linka was agog. "Nothing's going on with Wheeler."

"I know, and I know that's by your choice. He couldn't be more obvious if he rented a skywriter. Now we need to think of a way to make sure he stops trying, but in a way that doesn't hurt the team dynamic."

"Or hurt Wheeler." Linka said impulsively.

"Is that a factor?" Alana actually sounded surprised.

Linka looked outraged at the question. "Of course it is. Just because I haven't… I don't want to see him get hurt. That's not how we are with each other."

"Due respect, Linka; but you aren't anything with each other." Alana pointed out. "It must be grating on you by now. With this sudden new threat, you have to make sure-"

"What do you mean, 'grating on me'?" Linka interrupted. "What's he doing now that he hasn't been doing since we met?"

"Linka, it's been a year. If there was any part of you that was receptive, he would have made his intentions clear. The man can write your name in forty foot flaming letters across the beach with the snap of a finger. If he hasn't come out and said it, it's because he knows what your answer will be."

Linka blinked, caught off guard by that. "Actually... That's really true, isn't it?"

Alana nodded. "When your father was courting your mother, she lead him on a bit. Teased him mercilessly, in fact. He finally got the point that she liked teasing him, and began to take her playfulness as an invitation for more. The American isn't subtle about such things, Linka. If he hasn't made a move, it's because either he's not really interested, or you're not. And I think we both know which it is." She shrugged like it was obvious. "Ruby is starting to have questions. Ones that I can't answer, given her age. You have to close the book on this now."

Linka's face had become a stone mask, with a little twitch on one eye. "Grandmother, you know I love you; and I understand the tradition, but… And I say this with nothing but love for you: Butt out. I don't know what's going to happen with Wheeler, but that's my choice."

"Linka, be reasonable." Alana said gently.

"End of discussion."

"You have to be reasonable, Linka!"

"I'm not discussing this with you!" Linka insisted and stalked off.

Her grandmother watched her go with a secret smile.

* * *

Linka had worked up a good mad simply by stomping her way up to the beach, and was in no mood to calm down when she saw Wheeler. He saw her, and froze. "Hello, Linka."

"Yankee." She returned, accent coming through more strongly than normal.

Dead silence.

"Everything alright?" Wheeler asked finally.

"Just fine." She said shortly, suddenly aware that she had no idea what to say.

"We should-" He started to say just as he began with, "Do you-" They both fell silent.

"You first." He said finally.

Linka set her jaw and squared her shoulders. "No, you go ahead."

"I got nothing to say, really."

Linka let out a breath, and hated herself for it. She'd been whirling since the conversation with Alana, and here he was, letting her lead, and all that perfectly good fury was burning out. Think of something! She told herself. "Y'know, it just occurred to me that you've never actually seen my place."

Wheeler blinked rapidly. "Sorry?"

"Yeah. When we rebuilt our pre-fabs, made them ours, I never actually gave you the tour of mine, did I?" She nodded briskly. "It doesn't seem right, given that when this started, you took me into your home in New York. My hometown isn't even there any more, so this is the closest I can come to balancing the scales. Come along."

"Actually, there's no rush." Wheeler retreated. "I mean, I know Alana wouldn't consider it appropriate. I made a joke about letting myself into your place when JJ came to stay with us, and she nearly twisted my ear off."

Linka blinked. "Oh." She said finally, not quite sure how to respond to that. "You… are sure?"

"Sure." Wheeler said easily. "So, my turn to cook lunch for everyone. What are you in the mood for?"

There was the sound of someone clearing their throat, and Linka turned to see Alana making her way down the beach casually, not even looking in their direction. "I'll help." She told him. "Let's go."

"Behind you every step of the way, babe."

Linka smirked cunningly at Alana's retreating back. "Eyes a little higher, Yankee."

* * *

"So, did it work?" Ruby asked as Alana returned.

"It'll do them good to have her chasing him for a while." Alana said sagely. "Though, I think lunch may be a bit late today."

* * *

 **AN** : _As before, I had to rewrite this chapter a bit. In the time between the last chapter and this one getting published, the Parisculteurs_ _story broke. Also, when I wrote the last chapter a few months ago, Google had announced a target of being 100% Renewable Energy. In the last week, it has reached that target, and surpassed it. So has Apple._

 _Also, Portugal has announced that they are now 100% renewable, and they are ending fossil fuel subsidies._

 _These stories came in so recently that I couldn't get it into the 'Power Is Yours' montage of last chapter; but I thought you all should know that there's Good News coming in regularly._

 _Read and Review!_


	3. Combustion

Gi sighed happily as she felt familiar hands rubbing her shoulders. "Mm. Good timing. I was just getting annoyed, and needed something relaxing and enjoyable to come in and say hello."

"Glad to have job security." Kwame chuckled, putting a kiss on the top of her head. "What's annoying you?"

"Congressman Damon, from the great state of Missouri. He resigned his post this morning."

"Well… that was the goal, right? He was crooked, making people sick, destroying the groundwater? Isn't that good news?"

"It would be, if he had resigned because of our video. Instead, he quit because he was given another job offer."

"Private Sector?"

"The EPA." Gi drawled.

"What!?"

"Seems they need some new staff, and since he just became available, they figured he was the kind of forward-thinking person who should decide environmental policy." Gi held out her tablet computer. "Y'know, not one of those environmental fanatics who keep trying to-"

"Say no more." Kwame sighed. "Ma-Ti left for the Crystal Cave; but I don't think he'll find an answer there, any more than he would here with us."

Gi nodded, somber. "My parents? I told them about the new players. They're pleased. They think if there are other, more powerful Planeteers out there, then the focus and the reprisals may take aim at them from now on. They figure that if their daughter isn't as important, she'll live longer."

"You've been shot once already, love." Kwame held her from behind. "I admit, I'd love to think they're our reinforcements, but…"

"It just doesn't feel like good news." Gi nodded. "I agree. Forgive the Star Wars moment, but I have a bad feeling about this." She shook her head. "I need lunch. You want anything?"

"Not right now. I'll wait and see if Ma-Ti checks in."

* * *

Something had definitely changed. Wheeler wasn't sure what, but it felt like something fundamental had shifted. He and Linka were making lunch, just like they had done a thousand times before. But she was standing closer to him now, fingers brushing against his.

"So, I was thinking." She said finally. "We've probably got a day or so before we decide what to do about the Competition. Maybe we should talk."

"About what?" Wheeler asked, still slicing bread. "You want to run down the list again?"

"The mission list? No, not right now." She shook her head. "I mean, it'll still be there in the morning."

"Who are you and what have you done with Linka?" Wheeler quipped. "What did you want to talk about, then?"

"Us." Linka said calmly.

Wheeler nearly cut off a finger, the knife clattering to the floor. "Um… what?"

Linka smirked, triumphant. "Yes." She said gamely. "I admit, I've been pretty cagey about things, and there's no prize for guessing why."

"I don't blame you for not trusting my intentions, here." Wheeler said, and his tone caught her off guard. He was talking like he was picking her up for a prom date and trying to impress her father. "I think you know I don't mean anything wrong by it."

And for the first time, Linka played it up, instead of brushing it off, moving deliberately closer to him. "Wrong? No. But I'd be annoyed if you didn't plan to be at least a little… unwholesome."

Wheeler's eyes went dark. His pupils had grown huge in his eyes. "Link-a-a." He managed to draw her name over three syllables. "Every step of the way, you've been discouraging this."

"I know." Linka moved closer still, closing in on his lips. "And I don't even remember why anymore."

"Because you figured I was a complete man-slut?" Wheeler actually stepped back.

"That's right." Linka breathed, giving chase. "Now I'm thinking I was wrong. Now I'm thinking we should just see what happens."

They were so close now that Wheeler licked his lips, and actually had to lean back to avoid licking hers too. "We don't have to… here, I mean. We can do this the right way. Dinner?"

"We're making lunch." Linka pointed out softly. "You sure you want to wait until dinner?"

"Well, I don't want to be- what was the word? Unwholesome?"

"You'd prefer… Unseemly?" Linka smoldered. "Immoral? Salacious? Scandalous? _Dirty_?"

"Oh, heaven help me." Wheeler gave in and their lips met explosively.

Linka felt his heartbeat pounding against her own chest, and her own racing to meet it. His hands were pulling her tightly against him, and her fingers were clawing into his bright red hair. Linka knew she should breathe, but didn't care. The kitchen was filling with gusts of wind, and licks of flame were dancing over the countertops as she practically tried to climb him like a jungle gym. It was electric, and savage, and mindless, and-

"So, what's for lun-OH!"

The two of them broke apart as though Gi's entrance had actually poured a bucket of water over them. Linka put a hand to her mouth, blushing furiously. Wheeler took three large steps back.

Gi was smiling so widely that it seemed to stretch her face. "You know what? I'm not that hungry. Carry on!"

Gi was gone in an instant. The mood was broken somewhat, but by no means dead. Linka looked to Wheeler, and found that he had hurried back to the opposite end of the kitchenette, breathing hard. "Well. That was…"

Linka was breathing hard too. "Yeah. Really was."

"I mean, if Gi hadn't come in when she did…" Wheeler was holding onto the bench with both hands, as though he'd just run a marathon. "... I mean, who knows what might have happened?"

"I have a pretty good idea, actually." Linka breathed. It took her a moment to realize she was smiling, and then another moment to realize he wasn't. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He said immediately. So fast that it was clear he didn't mean it.

"You didn't like it." She was horrified.

"Linka, I loved every searing second of it." He assured her. "That's the problem. I want to do this right."

"Well, I think we were doing fine so far…" Linka almost laughed. He's blushing? Is that seriously happening right now? "I mean, I'm no expert, but-"

"I know you aren't." Wheeler said respectfully. "That's why I want to-"

"What do you mean, 'you know'?" Linka caught him suddenly, frowning. _Something's not right here. Something has happened._

Wheeler winced. "Look, I know you won't want to talk about this, but Alana sort of told me that you didn't have a lot of experience w-"

" _Alana_?!" Linka grated. "My grandmother told you this? So you decided to be all 'patient and respectful'? When did this conversation happen?!"

"Well, um- about twenty minutes ago, actually."

"WHAT!?" Linka raged, suddenly explosive. "Because she had a similar chat with me about ten minutes later!"

"WHAAAAT?!" Wheeler snapped, suddenly furious. The pot of water beside Linka promptly burst into a fast boil. "Wait! Is that what this was about?! You have one conversation with Alana, and suddenly you decide to 'see what happens'? What, did she give you permiss- What the hell am I saying? It's you! She told you to not to, didn't she?! She told you never to let anything happen with me, and you promptly marched over and _threw_ yourself at me precisely because Alana told you _not_ to!"

Linka flushed bright pink. That was exactly what happened. "Yeah, well… If something was actually going to happen on its own, it would have by now!"

Wheeler jerked like he'd been slapped. "Yes." He said seriously. No quips, just straight up sincerity.

"Yes." Linka said back, rage suddenly gone, equally honest. "I'm sorry. This was a mistake."

"I guess it was." Wheeler agreed, and stalked out.

* * *

Alana and Ruby were tending their garden, when Gi came along, almost skipping down the beach with a stupidly wide grin on her face.

Alana raised an eyebrow, looking the question to her without so much as speaking aloud. Gi nodded, and Alana let out a satisfied chuckle. "Less than half an hour. They were just looking for an excuse, weren't they?"

Gi giggled. "What did you-" She fell silent as Wheeler stormed past her like he was marching to war. Ruby scampered back a bit when he walked up to Alana and got right in her face, eyes flashing. The space around him was hot enough that she could see the air quiver. For a split second, Alana was honestly scared.

"Gi." Wheeler said, eyes still locked on the older woman. "Take a walk."

Gi turned on her heel and almost ran away.

"You thought you were helping, but what you were doing was manipulating, and no good can come of that." Wheeler said, downright lethal. "As Linka, oh so correctly pointed out, if something was going to happen, a year is long enough to know it. I'm betting that was what you told her, yes?"

Alana considered her options, and finally settled on surrender. "Yes. I said those words to her exactly."

Wheeler gave her a single nod. "Alana, do me a favor and don't talk to me again for a while. Maybe a long while. And if you ever try anything like that again, I will see to it that everything you eat is cooked _flambe_ style." He turned to go, hesitated, and then looked back. "Linka never trusted me, even if she liked me. Trying to manoeuvre her was only going to make it worse. If you don't get that, then you don't deserve to be her family."

He stalked off, and didn't even register as Linka strode up to take his place. She'd heard the whole thing. Linka and Alana stared at each other for a long moment.

"Well go on, it's your turn." Alana told her granddaughter finally.

"No, I don't think I can improve on that last part." Linka said, unreadable. "Wheeler's never had a parent butting into his life. His mother died too soon, and his father gone too long. He doesn't understand this particular form of… love. Telling him that I was insecure wasn't going to make him more certain of where he stood with me. If you thought that it would, then you don't deserve him either."

Linka turned to walk away, when Alana's voice called her back. "I didn't expect you to… well, pounce like that; and so soon."

"You said yourself that we're too volatile." Linka reminded her without turning.

"True, but I can't help but notice that both of you are more concerned about what I said to the other, rather than yourselves."

"Stop." Linka said softly, beyond the strength to keep arguing. "Just stop, please?"

Alana fell silent. Hiding behind her hip, Ruby was crying softly. Alana looked a hundred years older. "I'm sorry."

Linka nodded and walked away.

* * *

Gi answered almost immediately when Linka knocked on her door. "Are you okay?"

Linka shook her head. "I need advice."

Gi dragged her inside. "Girl talk!" She said brightly. "I was starting to think we'd never get here."

* * *

Kwame came by and found Wheeler on the beach, staring out at the ocean. "Everything okay?"

Wheeler shrugged. "Not the time for it, with everything else going on."

"Something I learned from dating Gi while doing this job: There's never a good time." Kwame reasoned. "You and Linka had another fight? Because that's kind of what you do."

"This was worse than a fight, Kwame." Wheeler sighed. "We agreed, _politely_. I almost wish she'd taken a swing at me, but this time we did everything but shake hands on it."

* * *

Linka managed to get the whole story out, in embarrassing detail.

"It's what parents do." Gi offered. "You should have heard the sort of thing my father came up with on the night of my first date."

"I know she didn't do it to have a laugh at our expense." Linka shook her head. "She wanted us to get past this… insufferable stalemate."

"We _all_ want you to get past this insufferable stalemate, Linka." Gi counselled. "It was funny for a few weeks, and a little bit sexy for the first few months, but after Kwame and I sorted ourselves out and got together, we just started feeling bad for you."

"If I'm honest, I'm sick of it too. We went further today than we have before." Linka admitted. "And we got our answer. If there was a chance, we let it go by."

"Didn't seem that way to me." Gi observed.

"Gi, that's the point. It took my grandmother telling me **not** to go for it. So what do I do? I charge." Linka shook her head. "We're past the point of a fling, or a one night stand. If it was just that, we would have done something about it months ago. I can't live happily ever after just because someone dared me not to. That's not real. And now we both know it."

Gi let out a hard sigh. "That man adores you."

Linka nodded. "And I him. But we both know that's not enough."

Gi shook her head. "You finally admit it, now that you've both decided there's no chance?"

"Yes; because it turns out that's the easy part." Linka actually smiled a little. "I guess you all got your wish. The stalemate is over."

"This is not what we were wishing for at all." Gi shook her head, looking very unhappy.

Linka regarded her. "You want to hug me now, don't you?"

"Yes." Gi said solemnly.

Linka sighed and held her arms apart. Gi didn't hesitate to wrap her friend up in a tight hug. "When I walked in on you two, I was just so happy for you."

"I know. And if I'm honest, I was pretty happy about it too, at the time." Linka admitted. "Gi… It's no secret that I have abandonment issues. I saw my own parents once a decade, before all of you, and this mission started with me walking away from my grandmother when things were getting hard on the farm, and flat out prying a sobbing little orphan girl out of my arms. Wheeler's first impression when it comes to women…"

"I get that, but I daresay we're past that now." Gi gave her a pointed look. "And even when you weren't, you liked him a lot more than you let on."

"I just told you what my issues are, Gi. None of them are Wheeler's fault, but as long as I have that particular raw nerve, I'll never be able to just… Be honest. Wheeler and I have that in common. We're not looking for love. We need something else to be happy."

"I know." Gi said forgivingly, still hugging her tight.

* * *

Halfway across the island, Kwame and Wheeler were having the same conversation.

"Loving Linka was never the issue. That feeling's been mutual for a while. But that's not what's lacking… It's no secret that I have a problem with Commitment." Wheeler told Kwame. "The things I do choose to stick with, I go all the way. But in my life, there have only been two things. My brother, and the Planeteers. My mom couldn't stick with us over her drugs, my dad chose a war over us when she died, my best friend in college got me kicked out over hot cash… To say nothing of exes who sell photos. When I decide to stick with something, I ride or die."

"Is Linka on that list?" Kwame asked.

"I wanted her to be." Wheeler admitted. "But she's not. Because she'll start hedging her bets the second she gets nervous, and if we tried to make something real, it'll be uncertain at first. She'll never trust me to Ride or Die, and until she does; I don't think I'll be able to put her on that list and just… be sure." He shook his head.

"So where does that leave us?"

* * *

"So who blinks first?" Gi asked.

"Neither of us, Gi; that's the point." Linka told her. "Wheeler and I are the Hard Luck Cases. Sometimes it just doesn't work out. He knows that as well as I do."

Gi was about to say something, when Ma-Ti spoke in their minds. _"Everyone to the Communications Tent. There's something you need to see."_

* * *

"They've been playing it over and over for the last ten minutes." Ma-Ti reported.

Gi came in and looked at the screen. "Is that…"

"Sure looks like him." Wheeler confirmed, right behind her.

On the screen were five familiar figures. Four of them were the Gauntleted people in masks that they had met in an underground cavern. The fifth was a face that they had splashed on a screen themselves.

* * *

"This man is Congressman Damon, of Missouri." The scrawled voice of Gauntlet-Green declared. "Recently, this man was uncovered by the Planeteers as being guilty of corruption. He accepted bribes, and was unconcerned with the harm done to the planet, because he was thirsty for the blood money. The Planeteers exposed this deceit… and his masters rewarded him with promotion."

Damon made his move, shouting to the camera. "We're at the-"

Gauntlet-Blue kicked him in the head.

"When you have a cancer, you don't treat it with politeness." Gauntlet-Green declared. "The Planeteers thought that the human race would step up, be made worthy of their place on this planet. They were wrong. What they got instead was celebrity, and scandal, and attention. Let this stand now as our own Notice of Intent. We're Team Gauntlet. You will not see our faces. You will not learn our names. We aren't here to pose for photographs. We don't require your assent, or your permission. The Planeteers are a half measure, and when you're fighting for the ultimate prize, there is no room for half measures."

Gauntlet-Green gestured to Gauntlet-Blue, who stepped over to their prisoner and hauled him to the middle of the picture, in full view.

"Please…" Damon whispered, pleading. "I'm sorry! I won't ever… Please!"

Unconcerned, Gauntlet-Green made a casual gesture, and the ground beneath Damon parted. The man fell into a crack in the earth that was exactly as wide as he was.

Damon was screaming for mercy, as every inch of the ground closed in on him, a lot slower than it needed to. It was a cruel, slow execution, televised live.

* * *

"How did they put that on the air?" Wheeler asked, hushed.

"That's what you're asking?" Gi looked at him in disbelief.

"I am, actually. TV Networks have legal standards of what they can broadcast." Wheeler explained. "A straight up execution? How'd they get that splashed out to the world?"

"I got a better question." JJ put in. "Why are the newscasters smiling?"

That got everyone's attention, and they turned back to the screen. Sure enough, the newscasters were looking pretty pleased.

* * *

"Well, this surprising turn of events is certainly unexpected."

"Right you are, Dan. I have to admit, when I heard that the Planeteers had exposed Barton's bribery scandal, I thought that would be the end of it. Good to know that there's someone who can carry that torch further."

"As yet, there has been no official statement from the Justice Department, but sources close to the Bribery Investigation agree that this was pretty much the only way to make sure he didn't do it again."

* * *

"Well, that's… weird." Linka commented profoundly. "Are they... approving?"

"Find Gauntlet." Kwame told Gi. "If Karen doesn't know where the clip was sent from, find something else. This is the first time they've spoken. The world knows about them now."

"What do we tell Karen?" Linka asked. "People are going to want to know how we're reacting to a new group of people like us."

"Tell her to call our Agent." Kwame brushed that off. "Top priority is finding out where Gauntlet is."

Wheeler looked the question to Gi. Gi shook her head slightly. _Kwame's on a mission to avenge his old friend. But he's not vengeful. He's afraid._

* * *

Everyone had their assignments and went to work. Once they were alone, Gi reached out and caught Kwame's hand. "Kwame." She said quietly. "Losing Matali would make you angry, but you aren't angry. Admittedly, it's hard to tell with you, but I think I'm right, speaking as your girlfriend. And you were right: If there was an intent to hurt us, they would have actually forced the fight. So why are you so scared?"

Silence.

"What if the statement is true?" Kwame whispered. "Ma-Ti can't get Gaia to answer him. What if she's decided we aren't enough?"

"We always knew we weren't enough." Gi offered. "That's why we were so busy on trying to organize the Foundation, the Power is Yours Campaigns…"

"Have you seen the breakdown on the latest campaign? Nobody cares anymore. I don't know when it happened, but at a time when the most people were doing something, hope was declared dead in the water."

Gi's lip twitched. "In the water?"

Kwame rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean." He bit his lip. "If they are… our replacements…"

"Kwame, our powers still work. We aren't benched. I don't know who Team Gauntlet is, but I don't believe they're from Gaia."

Kwame let out a sigh. "I hope you're right… But either way, we have to find out. And the only way to ask that is to ask them."

"Then I'd better get to work." Gi said, before she kissed the hand she was holding, and let him go. "Now shoo, I have crunching to do."

* * *

Ma-Ti had walked the length of Hope Island and found his way to the Cave. It hadn't changed in the year since their mission had begun. The low cave was streaked with opal, and in the centre was a shimmering pool of water, reflecting the opal light like stars.

Wheeler had warned Ma-Ti against drawing on his power too deeply. Wheeler had made the point that Ma-Ti was showing some of the classic signs of addiction, and Ma-Ti had admitted that his friend was right. At the time, Ma-Ti had largely ignored those warnings, assuming that Wheeler didn't really understand. Ma-Ti's power connected him to the life force, including his own. Addictions were dangerous, but Ma-Ti was plugged into the same energy that was already inside him. How could more of your own self be harmful?

But then the Planeteers had been captured, and their Rings taken from them. Ma-Ti had completely imploded. A few months after, Ma-Ti had given up his power voluntarily, as a way to try and atone for his misuse of his power. His family was still more afraid of him than not.

So Ma-Ti hadn't been opening himself to his sixth sense as much as he used to. For the most part, it hadn't made a difference on missions. But this wasn't a mission. This was a search. Ma-Ti could usually find an oasis in a desert, or a lost child in a wilderness.

So why couldn't he find Gaia, who should have been everywhere?

Life force flowed in much the same way energy did. From plants, to insects, to birds. From prey, to predators, to grass, to life again. The whole food web, the whole life cycle. There were places that shone with life, and others that did not, but on Hope Island, it was omnipresent.

Kwame came to the mouth of the cave, and found Ma-Ti sitting beside the water, looking troubled. "She isn't speaking to me, Kwame."

"She often doesn't." Kwame offered as he stepped into the cave and sat beside Ma-Ti. "It's been months since we heard from her last."

"She speaks when she has something we need to hear." Ma-Ti said. "Why didn't she warn us about this? About them?"

"I don't know." Kwame admitted.

Silence.

"She'd tell us, wouldn't she? If we had failed?" Ma-Ti bit his lip. "If she had decided we weren't enough? If she had decided to recruit a new team, she'd tell us?"

"If she recruited a new team, I believe the Rings would stop working." Kwame told his youngest teammate firmly. "This is something else."

"Then where is she?" Ma-Ti murmured. It wasn't fear in his voice, it was curiosity. "Kwame, I wish I could describe to you what it was like, to see the way I do. Everything that lives has the same signature, like an echo all singing a refrain of the same song."

"Poetic."

"Yes, except it's nothing like that at all." Ma-Ti said simply. "Everything that lives has one thing in common. It has life. It's like when you play a loud musical note, and then suddenly cut it off, and just for an instant, the air still hums with the sound that used to be. It's what makes a flower open it's petals in the morning and follow the sun. It's what makes a sparrow fly a thousand miles on migration and be accurate to within a hundred feet. It's what makes eggs hatch and lungs breathe and… All of it has something identical in it somewhere, like God, or Gaia or whatever you want to call it, left a Signature on all their creations."

Kwame nodded, listening.

"I can still feel that echo, Kwame. But there's something different now." Ma-Ti said. "It's like the life force itself is trying to curl into itself and hide, the way some animals do when a predator passes, or when winter strikes. It's like everything my Power can see has decided to wait out a storm."

"So why doesn't she tell us what the Storm is?" Kwame sighed, looking into the still pool.

* * *

 _Let me talk to them._

 **No.**

 _Let me talk to them. You want this showdown, they'll be there; but they have to know where to go._

 **They'll know soon enough.**

 _Let me talk to them._

 **Beg me.**

 _...please. I beg of you, let me talk to my Planeteers._

 **No. But that was enjoyable.**

* * *

Gi turned the clip inside out, ran it through her computer, studied every frame. Then, quite suddenly, she found something. Gi pumped a fist. "Ha! Geeks Rule!"

"What have you got?" Kwame asked, coming over.

"Absolutely nothing." Gi said primly. "No names or facial recognition, obviously. So I started looking at social media feeds from airports."

"But if there's no faces or names to work with…"

Gi shook her head. "After we started our second Power is Yours Campaign, there was a social media service that kept an eye out for… well, us. Assuming Ma-Ti was right about there being a Fifth Gauntlet, I had it look for five people on a flight to all the places where their victim was, and then leaving again."

"The service doesn't look for us specifically?"

"We had to use disguises before." Gi reminded him. "Anyway, it's academic. They found nothing. Which is, in itself, interesting. It means either someone's covering for them, or they have their own transport, like we do."

"Okay, so what worked?"

"Well, after that, I ran a search on the Gauntlets. There are forty thousand websites devoted to our Rings. Cosplayers did a roaring trade for it."

"I know. Lizzie Quinn still wants royalties."

"Right, so I figured those Gauntlets must have at least one person who took an interest." Gi reported. "But there's nothing there, either." She looked over. "You ready for this? In the time it took me to run the search, another eight thousand websites formed around Team Gauntlet. More than three thousand of the sites dedicated to us have been shut down; and traffic at the Foundation Website dropped to almost nothing. They aren't even asking us questions about the new guys."

"So, you don't have a lead for there, either." Kwame said. "So, the reason you're telling me all this?"

Gi flushed. "I spent three hours on this, Kwame; and got nowhere. At least let me tell my boyfriend?"

"Apologies, please continue." Kwame said with a placid smile.

"Well, I figured if I can't find the players, look for the board. So I ran the image from their video." She pulled it up on the screen and started pointing out details. "The background is a bare highway, nothing but wasteland, but the far background? I ran them through an image search, and I found a match on the horizon line." Gi reported as the rest of the team came hurrying in. "They're in Nevada."

* * *

The rest of the Planeteers assembled and Gi brought them up to date on how she'd found them.

"The news didn't try running the image?"

"No, and it's odd." Gi admitted. "The background search is usually the first thing they think of when they're taking apart an image."

"Now that you mention it, they aren't doing anything they usually do." Wheeler commented. "When we came out, there were panels, polls, debates about whether we were heroes, or Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They had church leaders, military advisors… These guys are universally welcomed."

"Maybe we softened things up for them?" Gi said dryly.

"Or maybe there's something else going on." Ma-Ti put in. He looked as troubled as he ever did. In fact, this was the most concern anyone had seen on his face.

"And then some." JJ announced as he came into the tent. "I've just gotten a call from Emily, for the first time since we broke up."

"Oh?" Wheeler tried not to smile.

"Yes, but not for that." JJ swatted his brother. "She tells me that the Planet Foundation is empty. Nobody's coming back to the meetings. She tells me that there are new groups forming about the Gauntlet broadcast."

"New groups?" Linka repeated. "Are they starting their own Foundation after all?"

"I don't know yet." JJ admitted. "But I want to find out. Can I get a ride back to the States with you?"

Linka checked their flight plan. "You… can, but you may have to get your own ride at least part of the way."

"Let's get moving." Kwame said. "We leave in an hour. Get your things. And Linka? We might want to-"

"Check in with the proper authorities, keep them out of the danger zone." Linka agreed. "I'll call my dad."

"I'll call mine. See what the military thinks." Wheeler agreed. "Um, Kwame? When we say: 'keep them out of the danger zone', does that mean we're declaring war on Team Gauntlet?"

"Right now, it means we're being prepared." Kwame told him. "We have a mission, and it was left to us to find the right way to handle it. The method we chose was to motivate the human race into fixing the problem. Part of that has to involves protecting them, doesn't it?"

Linka clocked that, and wasn't sure she agreed, but didn't argue the point.

* * *

Stephan answered the phone on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Dad, it's me." Linka called. "You saw the video? The Gauntlet?"

"Yes. Truth is, Interpol doesn't know what to make of it. There's been all sorts of hoax footage on Youtube in the last year. Plenty of people have been faking Elemental powers, and nobody's quite sure if Gauntlet is one of them or not."

"They're the real deal." Linka confirmed. "How do you not know that? You saw Damon on film, being executed. Dad, you put us onto him in the first place."

"And more than a few people are wondering if maybe that's not a coincidence." Stephan told her. "I identified a polluter, the world's most famous eco-enforcers splash his face to the world, and a few days later, he's dead."

"Gauntlet isn't working with us."

"Well someone sure is." Stephan told her. "We're seeing a massive spike in violence against guys like Damon in the last three days."

"How big a spike?" Linka was surprised.

"Over a thousand percent." Stephan said seriously. "And the thing is… They aren't being done by people with Elemental powers. We have suspects in half a dozen cases. No record, no connections to any eco or fringe group. No affiliations of any kind, in fact. A bunch of ordinary, everyday people just up and decided to go around and start torching coal trucks, oil tankers, lynch people who voted against green initiatives…"

"Well, that's unsettling." Linka agreed. "What's Interpol going to do about it?"

"That's the weirdest part. There is no investigation into any of it."

"Not your jurisdiction?"

"No, I mean at any level." Stephan told her. "Local, federal, Interpol. Nobody seems to be investigating this."

Linka frowned. "What does mom think?"

"Still haven't been able to reach her." Stephan admitted. "Has she contacted you?"

"No, nothing; but that's not unusual." Linka reported. "Listen, when you say nobody's investigating, does that include Gauntlet? Because we've already met them, and they're the real deal."

"Good to know, but the truth is, nobody knows where they are… and nobody's much interested in finding out."

"What is going on here?!" Linka demanded. "They flat out executed a Congressman, and put it on international television. How does nobody think it's worth investigating?"

"Linka, they did a poll on the news, and the vast majority were happy about it. That doesn't matter to Interpol, but it does matter to politicians and news anchors; so there's no kind of traction on anything official… And the investigators here are in the same boat. There's a group in the lunchroom that are playing that execution, over and over. It's like they're watching a hockey game."

"They're happy about it?" Linka repeated. "We've been getting one email after another that the public has become apathetic and is losing all hope. How does this line up with the majority being bloodthirsty for someone they hadn't heard of a week ago?"

"It doesn't." Stephan said, as though that explained everything. "Something's going on, but I can't for the life of me figure out what. It can't be conspiracy, there are too many people involved. It can't be bribery or coercion, there's no financing involved. We have no idea who Gauntlet is, and nobody seems to be interested in finding out."

"Gauntlet didn't make any demands." Linka told him. "This is an announcement."

"Yes. So I'm guessing you're feeling pretty good about it."

Linka froze. "What?"

"The others, I'm sure they're worried; but I'm betting you're not." Stephan said gamely. "I heard the statement, about 'no half-measures'. You've been pushing your own team for that all year."

"I guess I have." Linka admitted ruefully. "But I would have at least warned those people before…" Linka trailed off. Her first use of her powers had been a chemical plant in her own hometown, after it started dumping in their water supply. Something that was almost certainly going to happen again if Damon's bribe had been real. Linka hadn't issued any warnings that night, when she took the plant off the map. "I already have a team." She settled on finally.

"And Team Gauntlet already has wind power." Stephan pointed out grimly.

* * *

"The military has the same reaction." Wheeler reported. "My dad can't figure it out either. There are fan-groups sprouting up all over the place, even in the armed forces."

"This just keeps getting weirder with each phone call." Kwame observed. "A group with superpowers has declared war, and people are throwing a party?"

"Why Nevada?" Wheeler asked. "They could have picked any place in the world to have an execution."

"Come to that, why _any_ of their choices?" Gi thought aloud. "At first, I thought there were active in Zambia because of Kwame's hometown, but why Nevada? That has nothing to do with any of us."

"Damon did, though only briefly."

"Damon was from Missouri, he worked in Washington. Why take him to Nevada?" Wheeler put in. "Because they could have collapsed any town in the world, but they chose your hometown?"

Kwame looked. "We agreed it wasn't an attack on us."

"Not an attack." Linka told him. "An introduction."

"Linka and I have been thinking on this for a while." Wheeler explained. "We think that what you said about how they didn't want the attention was right. That night in Africa, they made sure we saw them, and then left before anyone else did. Pardon the choice of words, but they just made the biggest splash that anyone has made since Hope Island. The tape of them with Damon was their Coming Out Party, but they wanted us to know about them before anyone else did."

"Which brings us back to: Why Nevada?" Kwame summed up.

"Well, I might have an idea." Gi raised a hand. "We all agreed that the river in Zambia was stopped deliberately, by Team Gauntlet, right?" She bit her lip. "But the river stopped before we began the new 'Power Is Yours Campaign'. Damon was before that."

"So you think Damon was a spur of the moment choice?" Kwame reasoned.

"I do." Gi nodded. "Your Hometown was a planned mission, and if taking out Damon was an improv; then it means they were on their way to Nevada already."

"Why?" Linka asked.

Kwame's eyes flashed. "For their next mission."

* * *

 **AN** :

 _Between this chapter and the last one, a story was published that broke down voting trends. The top issue for under 18's since the new millennium was Climate Change, with Gun Control close behind. Half the world's population is now under 30. The kids are the ones doing the dying in this world, and the millennials will be making their first trip to a voting booth in a matter of months. Watch and see what happens now._

 _Other news that broke since the last chapter: New Zealand has now banned all off-shore drilling, and committed to a totally Renewable energy policy by 2050. Japanese Scientists have developed an enzyme that breaks down plastic waste in a week instead of a century; and a San Fransico energy company is seeking permission to build a solar farm in California, which will triple the one Tesla put in Australia._

 _Read and Review!_


	4. Curb-Stomp

Hoover Dam was as high as a seventy story building, six hundred feet wide at the base, and it's highest edge stretched the length of a canyon, at a length of over a thousand feet. Millions of tonnes of steel and concrete could stand up to the weight of all ten trillion gallons of water that it held back. It was sturdy enough to stand up to a nuclear strike...

But what the Gauntlet was able to unleash was something else entirely.

Hoover Dam was a working structure, producing enough power for the millions of people who lived in the area below the Dam. But today, there was nobody around as the Planeteers landed their Geo-Cruiser out of sight, and made their way closer. Once they got close enough, Ma-Ti lead them the rest of the way.

And sure enough, along the edge of the canyon, overlooking the huge concrete wall, were four masked and hooded figures. Gauntlet-Green glanced over his shoulder. "Why not come where we can talk to you properly, Planeteers?"

"As I recall, conversation didn't go that well." Linka commented, as the five of them stepped into view.

"We weren't sure we'd get here in time." Kwame admitted. "But once we figured out you were in Nevada, the only question was where you'd strike."

"After you made a point of telling the world that you weren't interested in any diversions, we figured you weren't here for a weekend in Vegas." Wheeler added.

"And since you've already shown you have a talent for bringing down dams, this seemed like the place to be." Kwame finished. "We aren't going to let you bring down the Dam."

"Why not?" Gauntlet-Green asked. "Vegas is the biggest energy waster on the planet. And you can't actually stop us."

"We'd rather it not come to that." Kwame said politely, but it was clear he was sizing up his opposite number. "But you should know, we've heard words like 'can't stop us' before."

"This I know." Gauntlet-Green said, laughing darkly. "You proved them all wrong, didn't you?"

The words were far less clinical and dismissive than anything Kwame had heard from his opposite number before. "Do we know each other?"

Gauntlet-Green laughed; sounding evil through the digital scrawl.

"Laugh it up, but we're more experienced at this than you are." Wheeler said. "I've seen your powers work, and I'm pretty sure you won't like it seeing ours coming back."

"More than four-fifths of the women I know have seen your moves, Wheels." Gauntlet-Red told him. "Trust me, I think we can take you."

Kwame started, nothing the familiarity of the nickname. "Wh-who are you people?"

And they finally got an answer.

Gauntlet-Green lifted his mask, pulled back the hood. A familiar face was revealed. "Hello, Kwame."

Kwame wove on his feet. "Matali?"

The Planeteers were in shock, but Wheeler was a good bit more direct, marching up to Gauntlet-Red, and yanking the mask free. "Trish!?"

"Hey, Wheels." Trish Allen pulled her hood back, shaking her hair out. "Surprised to see me?"

Gauntlet-White stepped up to Linka, and pulled back the hood, spreading arms wide, letting Linka decide. Linka saw the blonde hair and paled, reaching out and yanking the mask away. "Mom!?"

"Hello, sweetheart." Ivana smiled warmly, as though they were sitting down to lunch.

Gi looked to Gauntlet-Blue. Blue tilted his gaze, just waiting. Gi didn't move, didn't ask, and Blue sighed. "You can't do it; can you, Gi? Everyone else has a familiar face here, but you can't think of one."

Gi was almost trembling. "Who?" She demanded, as Gauntlet-Blue took his mask off. "Cho!? Why?!"

"Oh good, you do remember my name." Cho snarled. "I was your best friend. Your only friend, really; Prodigy. And then what happened? You get the Ring from Gaia, and you don't tell me. You don't speak to me again for over a year. When the word comes that you're a global celebrity, then a global fugitive, you don't even wonder what that means for me. I had everyone from Interpol tapping my phone to the paparazzi going through my garbage. But as long as you had your parents and your boyfriend on Hope Island, all was right in your world." He tilted his head towards Kwame. "Right?"

"It's too bad." Ivana said to her daughter. "I spent all day yesterday trying to convince these guys that you would see it our way. My girl knows that The Planeteers haven't done enough. That's why she can't stand sitting still. Well, now you can. Because we're here, so you should sit down."

Linka twitched. "Mom, what would dad say about that, I wonder?"

"I'm finishing the job my daughter started." Ivana said, pulling her mask back on. "Your father would understand that. That's why he called you guys in for his sting on Congressman Damon. And what you could do wasn't enough, so we did it ourselves."

"You murdered him."

"We took him off the board." Ivana said. "Something that playing by the rules didn't get you."

"You guys did a big thing, and you didn't suck at it." Trish said, pulling on her own mask. "But like I tried telling you six months ago: The only difference between you and me, Wheels? You got handed power, while the rest of us didn't. For all your talk about how 'the Power is Ours', it's easy for you to say that, because you've _got_ power."

"Real power." Matali agreed, pulling up his hood again. "And what do you do with it? You make viral videos, and give speeches in movie theatres."

Kwame was still trying to process this revelation. "That's not all we do."

"The message got through, guys!" Gi pleaded. "You've been following us, people are getting into the game. Businesses, industries, whole countries are getting involved at last!"

"Not all of them, and not enough." Ivana said, Gauntlet-White again.

"By who's measure?" Kwame demanded. "We know who commissioned us. We know who gave us these powers. Who picked you?"

Dead silence. None of Team Gauntlet gave them an answer on that, or so much as looked at each other.

"Now look, we specifically made sure that nobody knows who we are." Cho said. "You can still do what you've been doing, getting people involved, posing for photos. We don't do any of that. But in the world of getting things done, I think we both know you're out of your league."

Wheeler made a fist, flames crackling around his fingertips. "Not necessarily."

Trish looked at him. "You gonna fight me, Wheeler?" She challenged. "Because that's the only way this stops any of us from finishing the mission."

Wheeler looked at Kwame. Kwame looked at Matali.

Matali smirked. "Fine. Let's see where this goes, then." He turned to Hoover Dam. "Earth of Conquest!"

Then the ground started to shake.

Kwame raised a fist instantly. "EARTH!"

The ground slowed, but didn't stop. They could all hear the alarms going off, even at that distance. The greatest fear of any Dam was that the earth would shake.

"Matali! Last chance!" Kwame grit out, the amount of power he was summoning make him hurt inside. "There are people in that dam. More downstream. Dozens of them!"

"Well, get them out." Even with his face covered and his voice scrawled digitally, it was clear Matali was having no trouble at all. "That's what you do, isn't it?"

Wheeler gave Linka a hard look, and the two of them shifted, moving to flank both teams, making sure their view was uninterrupted. Gi moved to stand with Kwame, raising her own Ring. "Water!"

The Ring powers of the Plnaeteers combined, and the earth went still. Behind the dam, the water retreagted from the stone waqlls of the dam, easing the pressure.

"Well, this is going to be interesting." Trish quipped, and raised her Gauntlet. "Fire!"

The blast of heat that grew instantly around the Planeteers was more intense than anything Wheeler had come up with. A five foot wall of Flame burst into life, racing towards Gi and Kwame, like they were igniting rocket fuel. Wheeler's Ring came up like a quickdraw, and a second wall of flame appeared, smaller and weakeer,but enough to draw a line around Kwame and Gi protectively.

Linka was with Wheeler instantly, and their powers magnified, Wheeler's flames burst into stronger life, greater and brighter than anything Trish could summon. The flames sheeted back the way they came, straight towards Trish…

...who laughed, and walked straight through them, the flames extinguishing the second she reached them. "Well, that was almost cute." She mocked.

Matali had turned back to the Dam, and raised his Gaultlet. Kwame and Gi prepared to match him again-

When Linka's mother stepped into the ring. "Winds of Conquest!" She called, and the Planeteers felt themselves leave the ground.

The sudden windstorm had all the power of a tornado in an instant, and the Planeteers went flying, out of control, losing each other in an instant.

Kwame dug himself low to the ground, and summoned the rock around him to hold back the wind. He had half a second to see his teammates tossed around like they were made of paper. He didn't even see where they came down.

But as Matali turned back to the Dam, he couldn't keep looking for them, as the ground started to shake once again.

* * *

Linka had been thrown straight up, with dirt and dust pasting her eyes shut. "MA-TI!" She yelled.

 _"Here they are!"_ Ma-Ti's vice rolled through her mind. She didn't need her eyes open to see. She knew exactly where the rest of her team was.

Flight was something she had experimented with on Hope Island, at Wheeler's insistence; and gotten dunked in the ocean a dozen times for her trouble. She could conjure a tornado with enough force to lift her, the same way she did with the Geo-Cruiser, but there was no way to control it with any accuracy.

But as her eyes cleared, and Linka saw her mother had tossed her almost a hundred feet straight up, she was far more concerned about getting her friends back to ground level alive. The Planeteers were all falling, scattered by a windstorm, and she was their only hope.

* * *

Wheeler felt his fall slow, and he came down hard, but not hard enough to break bones. "Thanks, babe." He croaked, though he had no idea where Linka was now. With the wind knocked out of him, and his head still spinning, he struggled back to his feet. The Dam was a fair distance away; but Wheeler could still feel the ground quivering.

Team Gauntlet had found a way to keep the Planeteers apart, and unable to combine their powers.

Flat on his back, Wheeler was trying to move, when a familiar shadow was cast over him. "Hey, Wheels."

"Hey, Trish." Wheeler croaked. "Listen, I kind of have to get back to the others, so maybe we can put this off for the next-"

Trish brought both hands up, and they burst into flame as she smashed her fists down hard towards Wheeler's face. He threw himself to the side, and swung back automatically. A burst of flame came with his fist, and Trish batted it aside like a tossed match.

Wheeler was able to roll to the side, and came up in a combat crouch. "I've fought whole DemonZ gangs, Trish. As I'm the only fireproof guy in the world, you really think you can take me?"

Trish grinned like a shark. "Wheels, we both know who has more staying power here." She lifted her Gauntlet again. "And unless you wanna torch a woman, which we both know you won't, you're in some peril here."

Wheeler growled, and brought up his Ring, matching flame with flame.

* * *

Ma-Ti had landed on the Dam itself, and had no idea which way to go. There were no animals he could summon for help, no hearts with openness enough to be moved. The Gauntlet was a concrete wall of anti-Life, and he couldn't match it.

But within the walls of Hoover Dam were workers, watching the battle unfold with bated breath. He had to get them out, just in case.

Running for the access hatches, Ma-Ti made his way into the structure.

* * *

Gi had come down in the water behind the Dam, and was instantly at home. Her power had made her borderline amphibious at times. She scooped lower into the water, looking for a way to help Kwame from below…

And then the water suddenly ran away from her.

 _Cho._ Gi thought grimly as the water lifted her up again. _Oh god, how is this possible?!_

* * *

Ma-Ti had made his way into the structure. Most of the security doors were wide open, the cameras still, the checkpoints empty. Someone had gotten there before him.

Ma-Ti was at his weakest when surrounded by concrete and steel. He couldn't find anything he recognized. Evacuation Plans and Saftey Maps were all over the place, so he could find a direction, but he had no idea where he should go. Finally, he settled on the Security Offices. If he could get help from their own security,. And evacuation should be simple.

But when he got there, that room was empty too. The doors were all open, the cameras were all working, and Ma-Ti scanned the security monitors, and found something bone chilling.

Bodies. Dozens of them. All the workers.

Ma-Ti tried to figure out the controls to zoom in carefully. After some trial and error, he succeeded; and got a closer look at the bodies. They hadn't been killed by elemental powers. They'd killed each other; or themselves.

Ma-Ti's face turned to stone. He knew what had done this. But his Sixth Sense was telling him there were still survivors in the structure...

And then, quite suddenly, he found the workers in question. There were five of them. There should have been more, but Ma-Ti knew they were the only ones left. All five of them ignored him completely, walking together through the corridors in no particular hurry.

The sounds of combat outside were audible, even through so much concrete.

Ma-Ti hurried to the door, and started giving chase to those last five workers, when he caught a glimpse of another figure… wearing a Gauntlet Mask and Hood. He froze, wondering whether to go after this Fifth Gauntlet, or to go after the survivors who needed help to escape.

"What's wrong, Ma-Ti? Can't make up your mind?" A digital voice called.

* * *

Linka was losing her mind. No matter how hard she fought back, she couldn't get through. No matter how aggressively she threw her power at her mother, it didn't make a lick of difference. The Interpol Agent was swatting her like a fly.

Linka had summoned a full on tornado, and her mother had actually mimed blowing it a kiss, snuffing the wind out instantly. Linka had started a windstorm further back, and hurled debris at her. Her mother batted it away with an even stronger wind.

 _She's toying with me._ Linka seethed. _How is this happening?! My own mother?! HOW!?_

* * *

Ma-Ti made his way through the structure. The workers that had survived whatever bloodbath Gauntlet had caused were all looking around, smiling vacantly, under a spell.

Ma-Ti was doing his best to keep them in view, ready to help them; but he also called out to the only other person in the place. "Tell me!" Ma-Ti shouted. "Who summoned you?! I have to know that much!"

"Ask Gaia." The scrawled voice called back; the voice echoing unnaturally from all directions. "If you can find her."

"Are you stopping us from doing that?" Ma-Ti called. "You're the Heart Power, so you must have some ability to block Life Force. If I can, you can."

"It's almost as though Gaia wasn't strong enough to overcome me." The voice taunted. "It's almost as though she was too weak."

"Compared to who?!" Ma-Ti called.

"And you're as weak as she is." The voice called back, and Ma-Ti could tell this one was escaping. "Let's prove it: There are five people left in the facility. I took the liberty of having them lined up on the edge of the Dam. Do you save them, or chase me?"

Ma-Ti looked back, and saw the last five survivors were suddenly walking with purpose, right up towards the exits.

Ma-Ti glowered as he heard a door open above him. "The others showed their faces. Why do I think I know the reason why you haven't shown yours?"

No answer.

* * *

Gi had no idea where Cho was, but he was making the lake dance. The waves kept rolling her, rising and crashing down on her. But she was keeping ahead of it fairly easily. Gi's powers weren't as mighty as Cho's seemed to be, but were enough to wrap around herself safely. She kept the water away from her face, like a private breath mask, and kept water close to her feet.

Another wave curled over on top of her, trying to smash her onto the wall of the Dam, and Gi spun smoothly, skidding along the crashing breach, outrunning the breaks; even without a surfboard.

"I always was the better surfer, Cho!" Gi called as the wave passed, and the next one gathered. "I can do this all day!"

"So can I." Cho said in her ear, and Gi jumped to find him so close as he lunged from the water, fast enough to take a swing at her.

Gi let herself drop into the water deeper, so that he missed, and tried to summon the water herself. First one to be slammed against the concrete would win.

And then the water suddenly changed direction, tossing her up onto the shore before Gi even realized she was moving, and the Water Planeteer realized the truth: Cho had been toying with her all along.

Getting her feet back under herself, Gi went running to find the others. Behind her, beyond her power to stop, Cho was summoning the water in one tsunami after another, slamming the full weight of the lake against the dam, trying to batter it down.

* * *

Wheeler and Trish were exactly where they'd been since starting their showdown. Neither of them had moved, or tried to escape. Flames licked brighter and hotter around both of them as they tried to force the other one down through sheer force of firepower.

The heat didn't burn its way into either of them. Fireproofed by their mutual power, the goal was to break through whatever immunity to fire they both had. If there was a practical limit to it, then combining their heat would get them there.

"One of us will burn first, Wheels." Trish snarled.

"Fifty-Fifty is better odds than we usually get." Wheeler snarled right back.

The fire pulled in tighter around them like a blanket, wrapping and warping the two of them together. They were nose-to-nose, hands up, palms nearly touching, a wall of pure volcanic fire-force building in the inch between their hands. They were pouring it on hot enough that all the plants around them had gone to ash, the dirt and sand beneath them had flashboiled to molten glass, then shattered and pulverised. The two of them were sinking slowly into the ground as it melted.

"I'm more powerful than you, and you know it." Trish warned. "I can survive hotter flames than you can."

"Y'know, I've never tested the limit, myself." Wheeler grit back, sweat gathering in his hair. "But I've played enough RPG's to know that when you build up your offense, you don't have nearly as much on defense. I'm betting I'm more balanced than you, and that means when we get hot enough, you'll crack first."

"You're wrong." Trish laughed, and Wheeler could tell: She wasn't even a little bit worried.

* * *

Ma-Ti came out the access hatch, and found five people lined up on the edge of the Dam, ready to jump. There was nothing to catch them down below.

Ma-Ti ran to the nearest one, and put a hand out towards him. "Step back!"

The man in question shook his off. "Trust me, this is better." He told Ma-Ti, and the smile on his face was so earnest, that Ma-Ti almost left him there, despite himself.

"Step back!" The boy commanded again, bringing the full force of his Ring power to bear.

The man suddenly looked conflicted. "But… I'm supposed to stay here!"

Ma-Ti grit his teeth and pushed a little more power out. "NOW!"

The workers didn't move, and Ma-Ti was suddenly aware of the water behind the dam. It was moving like a living thing, leaving from the lakebed and slamming against the concrete. It took Ma-Ti enhanced senses to realize that someone was actually surfing the wave, without a surfboard.

* * *

Surfing the chaotic edge of Lake Mead, Gi rode the crest of Cho's latest wave up… and saw Ma-Ti on the edge of the dam, trying to pull people back from the edge. With a gulp, she summoned her power again. She didn't have enough power to shift the wave, but there was enough to toss herself towards the ledge.

Gi came down and rolled to stay unhurt. It mostly worked, and she came up on her elbows, scrambling to join her teammate. "Are they crazy?!"

"Help me, Gi." Ma-Ti said sharply, and Gi lifted her ring. It flashed light blue light, and Ma-Ti made a fist again. "Heart!"

With Gi's Ring Power to back him up, the strength of Ma-Ti's influence grew exponentially, and the vapid smile on the faces of the surviving civilians faded, giving way to horrifying realization of what was happening.

"Get me down!" One of them shouted, finally lucid enough to panic.

* * *

Kwame was losing ground all the time. It was clear that Matali was toying with him.

"How did this happen, Matali?" Kwame cried out as they wrestled over the ground beneath their feet. "When did you become this?!"

"Wouldn't you like to know?!" Matali actually chuckled. "I told the others we should have dropped the Dam right away, but they all wanted to see the Planeteers cutting loose. Ask any Boxer, old friend: The only way to claim the title is to find the reigning champ and step in the ring."

* * *

Ma-Ti was able to break through whatever spell had been cast over the workers, and was outright herding them towards safety. Gi watched Lake Mead jump up on end and slam into Hoover Dam, over and over. But she didn't try to hold it back. She had the winning strategy now.

Gauntlet's Powers didn't combine.

As Ma-Ti marched his charges to safety, Gi ran the length of the Dam, looking for other teammates to help.

As if to answer the thought, Linka fell out of the sky and landed in the lake, close to the shore. Gi summoned a quick wave to toss her teammate up on the bank before Cho could drown her. "We need a new strategy." She told Linka.

Linka brushed the water form her eyes, and pulled her hair back into a tight bun, seething. "I think you're right about that."

Ivana landed in front of them in a perfect gymnastic crouch. She brought her Gauntlet up for another attack…

The Lake rose menacingly from the other direction, heavy enough to block daylight.

Gi and Linka reached for each other in the same instant, hands meeting as they brought their Rings to bear.

* * *

"Okay, bored now." Matali said, and flicked his Gauntleted hand like he was brushing away a fly.

Instantly, the ground beneath Kwame's feet liquefied, and he sank into the ground up to his waist. "I can still stop you from here, Matali. My powers don't require me to use my feet."

"I'm not trying to trap you, Kwame." Matali grinned savagely. "I just want to make sure you have a good view."

* * *

Gi and Linka together were able to summon enough power over the water to hold it back before the wave crushed them. The two of them together had enough power to hold back the windstorm…

But it was immense, overpowering, heavier than anything Gi had ever held back before. Gi was driven down, on her knees, as though carrying the whole lake on her shoulders. Linka was beside her, facing the other way, using their combined Powers to push back against the windstorm her mother was hammering down on them both.

"You can't hold me back forever, Gi!" Cho roared, somewhere behind the wave.

The wrestling match was so intense, that Linka almost didn't notice as the ground beneath her began to shake, then shudder, and then finally rock, out of control. Both Planeteers went sprawling as the ground rebelled beneath them.

With a cry, Gi covered her head with her arms, expecting a billion tonnes of water to slam down on her… But it didn't come.

Daring to lift her head, Gi saw it all; happening in horrifying slow motion.

The wave looked like an angry fist the side of a mountain as it reared back and slammed against the Dam again. Hoover Dam was shaking, cracking and finally crumbling…

The battle was over, and they had lost.

* * *

Ma-Ti was still pushing the civilians along the walls as fast as he could. And then he felt the Dam start to give way beneath him. With a Cry, Ma-Ti put everything he had into making them run faster. He just barely made it as the concrete started to crack, lines of yawning destruction opening under his feet, even as he ran.

There was an incredible roaring, so loud that Ma-Ti thought a fighter jet was landing on his head, but it didn't stop. It kept going forever, and ever. It wasn't a jet engine. It was the sound of a billion tonnes of water and dirt… and debris. Ma-Ti stared in horror, watching a wall of destruction.

The water didn't stop. The torrent was wider than Ma-Ti could see, the width of the entire valley.

 _"You should have stayed with your team, Ma-Ti."_ A voice whispered in his head, and even Ma-Ti couldn't tell where it came from.

* * *

Gi was sprinting the edge of the valley. The water was washing away the ground as it went, widening the river. The pathways and cliffsides where they had been fighting were shrinking away quickly as what was a lake became a tsunami.

Gauntlet had vanished the second the Dam had broken. Gi came running towards Kwame, who was hauling himself out of the ground, even as the ground started to fall into the raging water. "Are you oka-"

"Gi!" Kwame yelled over the rushing noise. "Help Me!"

Gi understood. Further downriver, there were more spillways and dams, certain to be destroyed. If the two of them together could hold back the water, or slow the wave with a wall of earth and rock…

But within seconds, they knew it was pointless. The wave had them completely outmatched, and all they could do was watch.

There was a numb silence as they just... Stared. Nobody said it, but they all knew it. The Planeteers were meant to be the some of the most powerful players in the world, armed with some of the greatest firepower that the natural world could offer. And they'd just been beaten down so hard that they could only just stare at the devastation left behind.

"Maybe if four of us togeth- _Where's Wheeler?!_ " Linka demanded suddenly.

Everyone looked. There was no sign of him.

Linka went to the edge of the rushing water, sweeping left and right with her gaze. "Gi? Ma-Ti?"

Ma-Ti looked older than all of them. "I cannot feel him. I can't find him anywhere."

Linka went a little insane. "Well… Where is he?!" She demanded.

* * *

The search went on for an hour. Gi followed the currents of the water, as only she could, but the damage caused by the torrent was far too widespread. It wasn't long before they found exactly what they feared.

Bodies. Dozens of them picked up by the waves and the debris, pulverised by the weight to the point of being unrecognizable. They were caught up in the raging tsunami that swept across the desert. The combined powers of Ma-Ti, Gi, and Linka had brought the bodies up close enough to search, looking for Wheeler. They kept looking until finally they had to concede that the damage was spreading too fast for them to keep up with it.

"We should go back to the Geo-Cruiser." Gi suggested. "We'd cover more ground."

"Too late." Kwame said darkly. "The wave has already hit downriver, and if Wheeler's anywhere in there…"

The spread of devastation was impossible to comprehend. From one end of what they could see to the other, nothing but a line of muddy destruction, moving further and further out.

Gi was trying not to throw up. She'd seen damage and violence before, but trying to identify a loved one in a pile of corpses was too much. "This is the end of the torrent." She croaked around the bile. "He couldn't have been carried any further by the wave. I'm just glad it didn't actually hit the city! I wouldn't put it past Cho to carry the water that... far..." She looked sick. "Kwame, what the hell is going on? I know Cho! He was my friend!"

"They were all our friends." Kwame looked sick to his stomach.

"Not Wheeler." Said a voice.

The four of them spun and found Agent Petrova standing about ten feet away.

Linka looked ready to murder her. "What? No team? There's powerful, and then there's just reckless."

"I told you, Linka. I have no wish to fight you. You're my daughter. Gi is Cho's friend, though she doesn't seem to care. Matali and Kwame go way back… Trish was the only one that was clearly unattached to her opposite number. To break the Five; one had to be selected."

"Break the five." Kwame repeated the key phrase. "So removing Wheeler was… what? A demonstration?"

"No, not a demonstration." Ma-Ti said seriously. "They know how our Powers work. They know our powers combine."

Ivana nodded. "Yes, they do. If you'd used them together, you might even have had a chance. But now there are only four of you, and that's no threat to us." She actually smiled at Linka. "Rest easy, daughter. You got into this life because you couldn't trust that anyone else would do the right thing. Now you can. The world will be saved by the grownups. Go home."

"I'm not willing to accept that he's dead just because the woman who killed him told me so." Linka snarled. "I don't care if you are my mother; I'm not buying it."

Ivanka pulled something out of her pocket and tossed it lightly to Kwame.

It was Wheeler's Ring.

Gi let out a low sob. Kwame made a fist around the ring, the green stone in his own glimmering dangerously.

Ivana shrugged like nothing mattered at all. "You can have it back. We know enough to know that without Wheeler, it won't work. So there's your proof."

She didn't need to elaborate. They all knew it. If there was even a chance that Wheeler was alive, the stupidest thing she could do would be to give back his Ring.

"Children, the Planeteers are over." Ivana said simply. "The whole point of you is that there's five of you, with a balanced set of powers and abilities. Any of you being gone from the equation means it doesn't work. You can't fight back without Wheeler, and you can't even try without taking on your own friends and family members. You can keep going on your own quest, but I think we all know you won't be able to do it with a man missing." Ivana let that sink in. "So, let's talk about what you do have. You have an aircraft you can still fly, a private tropical island that nobody can take from you, and you have each other. Gi and Kwame will still live happily ever after, Ma-Ti can continue communing with orange peels, or whatever it is he does."

"And me?" Linka said quietly.

"Linka, you think we don't know you? The only thing we took from you was a mistake you felt bad about not making. Ruby and Alana are fine and well; and will live long, happy lives on a beach. A year ago, you would have cheerfully tossed Wheeler to the sharks for that deal. So all of you, go home and live the life you wanted. Leave the Planet to us. We're better at this than you could ever be, anyway."

Linka went a little insane and lunged at her mother. No powers, no warning, nothing but rage. Ivana didn't dodge or try to fight back. Linka wrapped her fingers around her throat and went nose-to-nose. "I don't care if you're my mother or not. I don't know what happened to turn you into this, but you were wise to wear a mask. Because that's all you are to me from this moment on. A faceless force that killed one of mine. You're dead to me, Gauntlet. We're enemies now."

"You still have three friends behind you, Linka." Her mother said, right back at her. "Remove your hands from me, or that can change. You're having a bad day, but don't think this is a battle between rivals. The Planeteers are disbanded. That's a fact."

Linka seriously considered strangling her anyway; when a hand rested lightly on her shoulder. It was Ma-Ti. She wasn't sure if it was her own conflicted heartbreak, or something he was doing with his Ring Power, but she felt her muscles relax, and she stepped back.

"Who is Gauntlet-Gold?" Ma-Ti asked, almost politely.

Ivana's head tilted. "I don't understand."

"There are five of us, there are four of you that have shown their faces." Ma-Ti said evenly. "I know there is a Fifth Gauntlet. Who is my Opposite Number?"

"There are four of you." The older woman reminded him. "And if there aren't five, then there may as well be none. Go home, all of you. The grownups can take care of this."

It was a patronizing, belittling statement. The kind that mothers made when their children were being foolish, and just getting in the way. It clearly hit Linka hard, as it was meant to. Linka lunged for her mother again, who was already gone. Her Icy-White Gauntlet glowed, and a sudden windstorm kicked up, tight enough to form like a mini cyclone around Alana, and send her flying away. They caught a quick look at her, in a perfectly controlled pose, riding the whirlwind. It was another slap in Linka's face, who had the same power, but not enough skill or strength to give chase.

Ma-Ti's head tilted to the distance. "Helicopters coming. Rescue and Salvage craft."

Kwame nodded. "We should meet with them. The faster they can get this cleaned up-"

"Kwame!" Linka was incensed. "We have to find Wheeler!"

"Linka, if Ma-Ti can't find him in two hours, then it's because he's not here anymore. Look how fast the water is moving. Telling Search And Rescue Teams what to look for is the best move at this point. Better a dozen helicopters searching than the Geo-Cruiser alone."

Linka seethed, but Kwame's calm reasoning tone was impossible to argue with; even for her.

* * *

As expected, the loss of Hoover Dam flooded out and destroyed the two smaller dams further downstream. Davis Dam and Parker Dam fought to open the floodgates as much as possible, but not enough to hold back the ten trillion gallons that Hoover Dam was churning loose.

Alarms and warning had gone out to the smaller towns that followed the river below Lake Mead, and had been blaring since the Planeteers and the Gauntlet began their battle.

As Linka brought the Geo-Cruiser over the towns, or what was left of them; they could see it clearly.

"How many people are in these towns, Gi?" Kwame asked quietly.

"Too many." Gi said quietly.

"How many?" Kwame asked again.

Gi shut her eyes a moment. "Over a hundred thousand, all told. Maybe a hundred twenty?"

Kwame didn't even blink. "Well." He said grimly. "Let's get down there, help out where we can."

* * *

The Search and Rescue teams were grateful for the help of Planeteers. Gi couldn't stop a wave of a trillion tonnes, but she could part the bogs enough to haul survivors out of the mud. Kwame couldn't summon a wall heavy enough to block a tsunami at the height of its power, but he could harden the ground enough to allow rescue teams to pass through dangerous areas.

"We're getting too good at this." Gi said grimly to Kwame. "Second time in a week we've had to face a washed away town."

"And for the same reason." Linka growled, hating it just as much.

Rogelio was the head of the Rescue Teams, and he'd coordinated with the Planeteers to save as many people as possible. After hours of work, he met with the four of them. "Look, what's going on here?" He asked finally. "I've been in too many of these rescue scenarios, and except for location, there's not much difference between them. People who are afraid? They react in all the same ways. There was warning. There was a great deal of warning… I'm told you all fought a delaying action to buy them time."

"We… tried." Kwame acknowledged. "Unsuccessfully."

"But you still had a few minutes from the first tremor. Which is why the scene makes no sense. There's no indication that anyone was trying to escape, but we've confirmed that the alarms were all going off at full volume. At least some of these people should have escaped, but…" The older man was at a loss.

"Why wouldn't they run?" Kwame asked.

"Because there was an opposing force convincing them to stay where they were." Ma-Ti said.

"An opposing force? What was that?" Linka asked.

"The Fifth Gauntlet." Ma-Ti said. "The one that didn't take off a mask."

"He was there?"

"In the Hoover Dam Structure, casting a spell." Ma-Ti confirmed.

"Gauntlet? Those people on the news?" Rogelio was suddenly smiling. "They were here? Well, that's alright then. I thought maybe there was a real problem."

The four of them stared blankly at him, and the sudden smile on his face. The moment passed, and Rogelio's smile faded just a touch as he turned and went back to work. "Well, I'll get my people out of harm's way, see if there's anyone else to help. Odds are we won't find anyone else by now, though. The floodwaters are still moving, but the weight of it is in the debris it's tossing around, and most of that has pooled in one place or another. I'll have to address some reporters soon, give them the good news."

"Good news?" Kwame repeated.

"Well sure, you're the Planeteers. You must be happy to see the river let loose. Isn't Las Vegas the biggest energy waster in the world?"

"What about Wheeler?" Linka demanded.

"Ohh, I wouldn't worry." Rogelio said with the same placid smile as he walked away. "Gauntlet can keep the mission going without him."

* * *

"That is downright creepy as all get out." Gi said profoundly as they made their way back to where their Glider was parked.

"Yes, it is." Kwame agreed. "It also means that anything he tells us is suspect. Gi, what's the real news?"

Gi looked sick to her stomach. "Hoover Dam and Lake Mead produced more than three quarters of the electricity and drinking water in Vegas. That's over a million people who can't stay. Also a certain amount of the drinking water for Phoenix, L.A., San Diego… All told, that's millions of people… Plus the irrigation. Lake Mead and the Colorado River produced irrigation water for all entire Valley. That's half a million acres of farmland that used to be open desert. A billion dollars worth of food per year… Plus however much money changes hands in Vegas over a day."

"So, the whole area will be uninhabitable within a week." Kwame summed up. "That's several million people needing help…"

"The country will be in pretty bad economic straits pretty soon.

Linka nodded. "And there's nothing to stop the Bad Guys from doing it again. The Gauntlet got away clean."

" _If_ they're bad guys. We still don't know if Gaia called them in because we weren't..." Ma-Ti trailed off, not willing to continue that.

"And even if we found them again, what on earth could we do?" Kwame was about as unsettled as anyone had ever seen him. "Now that we know who they are, and… and how much stronger than we are they seem to be."

"And either way, we still can't get Gaia to speak to us!" Gi put in. "This is all kinds of wrong. What do we do?"

Heavy silence.

"We finish what we started." Kwame said, not for the first time. "You heard what Team Gauntlet said. They aren't interested in the 'celebrity' or the 'distractions'. What they mean is, they don't care about the people. We just saw a prime example of that."

The others looked heavily at each other, knowing that was true.

"We've told the rescue teams about Wheeler." Kwame said. "There's nothing more we can do here. We've been hauling bodies out of the mud all afternoon. We need to regroup."

That much was obvious, as they came into view of the Geo-Cruiser.

"I want to go to New York." Linka said darkly. "News hasn't broken about Wheeler yet. I don't want his brother to find out from TV, and I don't want to lay this on him over the phone."

Kwame looked worse than when Matali had taken his mask off. "I'm going with you." He said firmly.

"Come if you want, but this is my job." Linka said, and it was a tone that suggested Kwame would be wasting his breath by arguing.

"We'll do it together. I was in charge of this team, and I was the one who forced that meeting at Hoover Dam." Kwame said heavily. "This is on me. I can't let you take this one."

For a moment, it looked like Linka was going to attack him; but the anger drained out slowly. "Yes." She admitted. "But I have to be the one that tells JJ. I couldn't be honest with myself, or with Wheeler. The least I can do is be honest with his brother."

Kwame said nothing to that, but he glanced over to make sure Gi and Ma-Ti had pulled several feet ahead of them, before stepping forward to give Linka a tight hug.

* * *

Gi's eyes were still teary with exhaustion when they all hauled themselves into the Geo-Cruiser. "You want me to fly?"

"I'm the engine." Linka said stubbornly. "And I don't want to talk about it."

"Then how about we talk about the other thing?" Gi said quietly, keeping it just between them.

"What other thing?"

"I don't know, but Ma-Ti told me there was something else." Gi wiped her face. "The kid's taking it pretty hard; so whatever the other thing is, it must be important."

Linka looked sick. "Mom was right… I wanted to join them." She admitted to Gi. "I saw them, and I thought to myself: That's the way to do it. Total focus, non-stop, nothing held back, all the way."

"You were never comfortable with the other half of being a Planeteer." Gi allowed. "The part where we were on camera, talking to people, getting photographed."

"What Kwame said, about how they don't care about the people? He's right." Linka admitted. "And it's just a little bit… shattering to know that I identified more with them than I ever did with the people they just drowned!" She scrubbed her eyes like she had an itch, but Gi knew she was wiping tears away. "I'm the bad guy."

"You're the enforcer." Gi told her. "When we started this, I was so scared that I was the weak one, compared to you. But this quest we're on… It's not for the timid, and I was glad to know you had our back."

"For all the good I did." Linka said bitterly. "Wheeler didn't even get a chance to shout for help."

Kwame had gotten close enough to speak to them, and rolled his head back achingly. "Linka, listen. We've been working like crazy for more than five hours. If it gets too much-"

"Not for me." Linka said tightly. "Not much need for wind power in a mudslide."

"Linka, you're exhausted." Kwame said firmly. "We still have a job to do, and rest can be a weapon as well."

Linka gripped the controls so tightly it hurt. "Yes sir."

There were six seats in the Geo-Cruiser. The one at the back of the cabin was used for cargo or passengers. There was one seat empty. It would always be empty. Gi started crying. So did Ma-Ti.

Linka blinked tears back. She was the pilot. She couldn't tear up.

 _Not yet, anyway._ She promised herself.

* * *

 **AN** : _Happy Earth Day! In the week between the last chapter and this one; the following news stories broke:_

 _The UK went 55 hours without coal produced energy being used at all, because renewable energy was putting too much into the grid._

 _Europe's largest bank, HSCB; has announced they will no longer be investing or funding oil sands, new coal mines or power plants, or arctic drilling._

 _Micheal Bloomberg announced that he would personally cover the USA's financial contribution to the Paris Climate Agreement, since the US wasn't going to._

 _Tesla released the numbers stating that so far, their EV fleet and Energy Products combined have saved 7.4 million tonnes of CO2 from being released._

 _US Wind energy now supplies more than a third of all power to four different states._

 _China has electric buses. In 2012, they had less than 300, and now more than 16,300. They have also vowed to spend $360 billion on Renewables, and create 13 million new jobs in the Renewable Energy field within two years._

 _Read and Review!_


	5. Try To Fly

JJ went to school, and left within two hours. The classes weren't running, but there had been no announcement. The teachers simply hadn't shown up. Everyone was watching the news, glued to the story of what Gauntlet had done for the world.

Vegas was being evacuated, but nobody seemed to be in a rush. Word was that Vegas was in the middle of a full gang war. The news wasn't supposed to play such graphic footage, but they did. There were gunfights in every supermarket, every city street...

And yet, the footage on the news showed more people were throwing parties than anything else. And the same was happening in New York. The streets were crowded with people. No violence, no riots. In fact, it was more like a party being thrown.

Gauntlet hadn't stopped there. They'd rallied an uprising in the South American nations against logging in the Amazon, sunk an entire fishing fleet in the Pacific, and capsized Whaling ships, oil tankers... The news was keeping track of every sighting over the last day and a half; trying to guess where they'd go next.

Gauntlet alone wasn't needed to keep the momentum going. There were reports of violence in the Far East; of oil wells burning all across the world, their staff lynched by random mobs and left swinging off the burning oil well structures...

JJ had been travelling the subway, and it was the same in every neighborhood of New York. Graffiti was being sprayed everywhere, with new slogans like 'Gauntlet-Gods!' and 'More Power!'

"JJ!" A familiar voice shouted. "Hey! Up here!"

JJ looked up, and saw a familiar face waving at him from a balcony. "Avery?"

Avery had a vaguely drunken smile on his face. "Come on up! You should be here!"

JJ looked around. The street was getting a little crazy, and indoors was better than nothing. It wasn't like he was expected at home. Polly was expecting him to be at school until the afternoon.

He went inside, and Avery met him at the elevator. "What's going on?"

Avery hit the button for the top floor. "I was taking some shots for Instagram, but trust me, the real party is in the Penthouse."

"Avery, why the hell is there a party going on?" JJ asked blankly.

"Why wouldn't we have a party? The world's finally getting better!"

* * *

When JJ came out into the Penthouse, he was hit by a sudden wave of noise and color. The place was furnished with huge oil paintings, dark wood panelling, all the modern conveniences... And now it was crammed full of people, half of them trashing things, the other half making out crazily, tearing at each other's clothes. Some wore Halloween masks, others were tossing things out the windows...

JJ had been warned what to do when a party got too crazy, and this one was beyond wild already.

"Hey, JJ." Another familiar voice purred in his ear.

He turned. "Emily?" He was stunned. "W-what are you doing here?"

"It's my place." Emily trilled happily, hands all over him. "Or it used to be, anyway. This is where my dad and I lived, before we lost everything!"

JJ looked around, trying not to enjoy her proximity too much. "What happened to the people who live here now?"

"Oh, we were finished with them hours ago!" Emily cackled happily, and pulled him in for a hard kiss that set off sparks in his head. "Y'know, I never should have dropped you, hot stuff." She grinned. "I knew you'd be disreputable again!" She raised her voice. "Hey! Everyone! This is JJ! His brother's a Planeteer!"

A cheer went up, but it wasn't a cheer of celebrity, it was… amused, like Emily had just shown them a picture of a cute little baby learning to walk.

Emily cackled along with it. "JJ here fought the good fight for almost a year, and got nowhere! This is his first day off from the Foundation since it started." She threw an arm lazily around his shoulders. "Would anyone like to help him celebrate?!"

Another cheer went up and someone tossed Emily a bottle. JJ caught a look at the label. It was a brand so expensive that even JJ knew what it was. Emily took a long gulp of it, straight from the bottle, and put it in JJ's hand.

"What are we celebrating?" JJ shouted over the sudden blast of music.

"The end of the problem, JJ!" Avery shouted. "Look down at the street! The Gas Guzzling SUV's are being torched. There was a guy who threw his Styrofoam coffee cup on the ground instead of the bin, and I saw half a dozen guys hold him down and make him eat it!"

Emily slugged back another gulp and grinned. "I saw a guy in Starbucks bring in his own mug. They gave him the coffee for free. People who ask for disposable get thrown out of the store." She grinned wolfishly. "It's happening, JJ. It's finally happening!"

JJ was about to respond, when a sudden blast rang out. JJ ducked instinctively. Nobody else did.

Someone had found a shotgun. "Look what I found!"

Avery waved his hands. "Give it here!"

JJ tried to wave him down. "Avery, seriously; you've been drinking. Best not to have a loaded shotgun in your hands. Where'd they even find that?"

"The Trophy Room." Emily said. "The neighbors have one." Her voice had turned ugly. "Let's go have some fun."

Avery rested the shotgun on his shoulder and she led the way out of the apartment, across the hall to the only other one on the floor. It was as plush as the other one, with as many people in it. There were people in this apartment too, tossing things out of drawers, ripping apart the first editions from the bookshelves; tearing apart the expensive silks and wardrobes.

JJ was unnerved in about eight different ways. "Guys, what you're doing here is all kinds of illegal."

"You can say the same about most things your brother does." Avery commented, and led the way into the Trophy Room. A large room… full of hunting trophies. Deer and moose-heads, stuffed bears and mounted birds…

"Look at this rug." Emily said in disgust. "It's endangered."

"It's still legal." JJ offered. Emily was following some playbook he couldn't guess at, and so was everyone else in the building. None of them seemed to mind that they were breaking the law. _Where are the cops? This is Fifth Avenue! Don't they get here faster than anywhere else in the city?_

"Legal?" Avery scoffed. "JJ, you sound like your brother." He turned on his heel and headed out into the hallway.

Emily cackled and started tearing down the trophies, tossing them in a pile. "So, ballpark: how many acres of the Amazon do you think they had to burn down to get these trophies?"

"Too many." JJ conceded, as Emily kicked the broken animal parts into a pile and poured half her bottle over it. "Seriously, Em… This is all kinds of dangerous, and it's only a matter of time before-"

"I NEED A LIGHT IN HERE!" Emily hollered at the doorway.

And then, from out in the hall, the shotgun went off. JJ ran to the hallway as everyone cheered.

JJ got there just in time to see Avery rack another pair of shells. "PULL!" He shouted.

Across the room, someone picked up a painting. Impressionist, with gold-leaf frame. JJ could tell it was worth more than he'd seen in his life. The painting was easily tossed into the air across the room, and JJ blasted it like a clay pigeon. The blast took out the glass doors to the balcony, and a big chunk of the wall.

Avery laughed like it was a great joke, the crowd howled with approval.

It was an orgy. It was a warzone. It was a revolution. It was brutality. It was a Rave.

JJ turned away in disgust. His ears were ringing with the music and the blasts. His nose was twitching with the acrid smoke of fires and gunpowder. He had to get out, and he wanted to take Emily with him before she killed herself. When he went back into the trophy room, she had gotten the fire started, and was helping herself to another wetbar. JJ went to the window to clear the smoke out, and noticed one of the rooftop gardens on the next building over, only a level below them.

"What's happening out there?!" JJ shouted to Emily over the noise.

"Don't distract the hostess when she's drinking!" Emily called back, drinking from the scotch with one hand, and gin with the other. Gulping loudly, she answered his question. "Out there is where we put the people who lived in all these apartments, big guy." She explained with a bloodthirsty grin. "They're having a blast too."

Unnerved, JJ went to the window to look. Out in the rooftop garden there was still more people, more or less clustered around a much smaller group of people who were clearly dressed in luxury and wealth, but the expensive clothing was torn and dirty, the lot of them missing shoes, wearing broken glasses…

But rather than look trapped or scared, the richest people in New York were weaving on their feet, looking drunk and vacant, some of them drinking, some of them having a knife-fight with each other, in full view of a crowd that was cheering them on crazily.

JJ kept watching out the Penthouse windows, when one of the older men stood up and shouted for attention. "This is My CONFESSION!"

A roar answered him.

"I invested in Coal! I made my fortune off strip mining! I lobbied to eliminate Environmental protections!" The older man howled, beating and slashing at his own face with his fingernails. "I'm the Problem!"

"Fix The Problem!" The crowd howled back, toasting,

"When The Planeteers came, I did nothing!" The old man screeched. "I didn't even sign petitions! I'm The Problem!"

"Fix The Problem!" The crowd howled back.

The old man tore his jacket off and threw it to those watching, who ripped it apart between them rabidly, fighting for the scraps.

"I'm the Problem!" The Old Man shouted as he stepped to the edge of the rooftop. "For ZARM!"

The crowd cheered again… as the old man jumped off the rooftop. JJ let out a shout of shock. The whole thing had happened so easily and quickly that it was like he was watching it on TV. Nobody had tried to stop him, the old man had been smiling…

And one by one, the rest of his family lined up to do the same, even the children.

JJ threw himself forward, trying to push through the barred glass doors. "Stop them!" He shouted down at the opposite crowd. "Someone has to stop them!"

But if the crowd below could hear him over their own cheering, it didn't show. From the Penthouse room he was in, an amused laugh answered, as thought JJ was making a fool of himself, and nobody minded laughing.

Emily's arms wound sinuously around his neck, her lips on his ear. "Relax, JJ. They were the problem. Your brother was trying to make nice with a-holes like that for over a year, and what happened? They just got richer. The problem is fixed now. They know their time is up."

"Emily, it was this side of two years ago that _you_ lived in this apartment." JJ picked her hands off him pointedly.

"PULL!" Avery screamed from somewhere, and the shotgun went off again. The crowd went berserk, and JJ fled to the elevator.

* * *

JJ went looking for police officers, and found them, firing their guns in the air, cheering on the crowd as they mobbed a gas station, pouring the fuel out on the ground.

Surrendering, JJ ran for the train station. After what seemed like a million years, JJ made it back to the apartment. Polly was waiting for him at the door, looking grave. "It's like The Purge out there!" JJ told her. "I'm legitimately wondering if we should get out of town. Those parties are getting a lot closer to our… street…" JJ saw her face. "Polly, what's wrong?"

The door opened further, and JJ saw Linka and Kwame, also looking grave… and no sign of Wheeler.

JJ felt his heart give a solid thud. It was like the time he'd come home from school and found out his mother had…

No.

JJ heard his bag drop, distantly. The door was still wide open. Polly came over and closed it, resting a hand on his shoulder. "JJ, I am so sorry."

JJ felt his insides turn to liquid. It was like someone had taken his skeleton out. "Are-" His voice cracked. "Are you sure?"

Linka pulled out a battered ring with a red stone on top. Wheeler's Ring.

JJ crumpled, and took the Ring from her. An instant later, he was running for his room, slamming the door hard behind him.

Linka rubbed her face half raw. "This is…" She looked sick. "This is just the _worst_ thing ever."

Polly nodded. "How are _you_ holding up, gorgeous?"

Linka looked gravely at her. "I'm not the priority right now."

"No, you aren't." Polly agreed. "But I'm not about to kick in the door to JJ's room."

* * *

JJ had sunk to the floor against his bedroom door. _This used to be Wheeler's Room, before he moved out._ JJ had moved his things into it, since he wanted the bigger room. Wheeler had joshed him over it, made all sorts of jokes…

 _Wheels, come on. This isn't funny._

But it wasn't a joke, and JJ knew it, deep down. And the most horrifying part was that he wasn't even surprised. On some level he'd been expecting it to happen again. His mother had overdosed. His brother was on a global quest to save the world, his father was a soldier, serving in a forward area. On some level, JJ had been waiting for this visit since his mom had died. He was barely old enough to know what death was back then. But that day, he had learned it; and he had learned it was inevitable.

But JJ had been to Hope Island. The Crystal Cave had shown him things that nobody his age had seen. The Memory of that had slipped away so fast that at times, JJ had wondered if he'd dreamed it.

JJ stared blankly at nothing for a long time. Wheeler wasn't a soldier. He was a warrior. A soldier had off-duty hours. A soldier went home at the end of a tour, or when the war was over. A warrior kept fighting until he couldn't anymore. Wheeler hadn't been given a tour of duty. His quest was never going to end.

So JJ had been expecting it, deep down. He'd always known it was going to happen, because win or lose, a warrior's life only ended one way.

But that couldn't be it. JJ couldn't believe it would end that way.

Face made of stone, JJ opened his fist. The Ring sat in his open palm. With a millisecond of sick hope, JJ slid it onto his finger. It almost fit, and he made a fist. "...fire..." He whispered.

Nothing.

JJ squeezed his fist tighter. "Fire?" He croaked again.

Nothing.

The tears came then, rolling over his face. "Fire! Please!" He hissed. "Come ON! FIRE!"

Nothing. His fist was so tight he'd drawn blood with his fingernails; and he let out a yell that ended with him lurching to his feet and turning his desk over. "GOD!"

The door opened, and Linka came in, putting him in a tight hold from behind, JJ thrashed against her for a minute, too eager to kick something again; but the strength drained away as fast as the hope, and he dropped. He sagged in Linka's arms, and the two of them dropped slowly to the floor, clinging to each other.

"I'm sorry, JJ. I'm so sorry." Linka said it over and over like a prayer. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

Half an hour later, Linka returned to the others. "He's packing." She told Kwame shortly.

Kwame turned to Polly. "You're welcome to come along too, Ma'am.."

"Strange as it may seem, Father Nature, I wasn't just staying in my rathole because JJ lived down the hall." Polly drawled. "Someone has to keep the home fires burning, at any rate. Sooner or later word will get out about Wheeler. Get that boy far away from here before it does. If the media come for me, I'll handle it with a whip and a chair."

"I bet you will." Linka commented lightly.

"Polly tells me the Planeteer Foundation has been empty since Gauntlet made its announcement." Kwame put in.

Linka was surprised. "It's only been a day or two."

"Have you seen New York? The last two days have…" Polly trailed off and waved a hand at the window. The smoke was visible from over a dozen spot fires.

"Are you sure you won't come with us?"

"I have basic cable, a supply of coffee, and I have firearms." Polly told them. "If I go with you to some tropical paradise, I won't have any of those things."

"You're the all-American girl, Parrot." JJ said with grim sarcasm as he came out of his room with a sports bag. "Let's go."

* * *

Gi and Ma-Ti had stayed with the Geo-Cruiser, to make sure their exit would be quick. They were expecting at least a few people to be looking for pictures. Instead, there was a whole lot of nobody watching.

But about thirty feet to the left, a crowd was storming up the gangplank of a large cargo ship. Gi couldn't tell if they were there to loot the ship, or toss the cargo overboard.

"What's happening, Ma-Ti?" Gi asked in a low voice. "I know it's been a tough day for us, but I swear, I'm feeling like something's trying to push me into my shoes right now."

Ma-Ti nodded. "I can feel it. New York always had that effect on me, but now… I'm not sure. How can Gauntlet have this much… influence?"

"We know that the Gauntlet Powers are stronger than ours. Individually, anyway." Gi offered. "It's the only thing we knew about them, in fact."

Ma-Ti looked over. "If Wheeler were here, he'd say something to make you laugh. I wish he was here, because I'd like to hear it, too."

Gi shook her head miserably. "Cho wasn't lying, Ma-Ti. I never even called him. He was a surf buddy. I knew he liked me. He was there when I got my Ring, and he helped me figure out the symbol on it... I never even tried to contact him again when I left home. Not even to say goodbye." She wiped her eyes. "I don't treat my friends like that, do I?"

"None of which excuses what he has done." Ma-Ti pointed out. "I don't care if you set him on fire, he still made the choice."

"Did he?" Gi waved at the riot, now throwing things off the edge of the Container ship. "I find it easier to believe that Cho and the rest of them are under mind control, than any of the other possibilities."

"The only member of the Gauntlet that we haven't been introduced to is my own opposite number." Ma-Ti agreed. "And I think I know why-"

"Is that them?" Gi straightened.

Ma-Ti didn't even look. "That's them. JJ's taking it well, I believe."

Gi winced. "I'm glad one of us is."

* * *

Nobody said much on the flight back to Hope Island. Nobody was game to comment when JJ chose his brother's usual seat for the flight. Gi had given him a tight hug, and he'd shaken it off. He was withdrawing into himself, the way his brother had done.

It wasn't the time to talk about it; and they took off for Hope Island.

* * *

"You're making better time than you did the last time I flew with you." JJ observed after a few hours. It was the first words spoken on the entire flight.

"We've been experimenting with the ways our powers can combine." Kwame said from the front seat. "Back when this all began, we couldn't tell the difference between our ring power and our elemental powers. When I summoned my power, and Gi summoned hers, we got a clod of mud that didn't do much. Since then we've discovered that we can each summon the Force of our Powers, and then feed them into each other. I can magnify Gi's water without summoning rock to meet it, Gi can make Linka's wind more powerful without adding rain…"

"All of us are combining our powers behind Linka right now. There's a Tornado-Level breeze right behind us, and nobody can feel it twenty feet away." Gi added.

JJ nodded, listening but not really caring.

Ma-Ti suddenly leaned forward. "Someone's there."

"Where?"

"Hope Island." Ma-Ti reported. "Someone's arrived at the island…"

Linka put the Geo-Cruiser into a slow dive and took them out of the cloud layer. Sure enough, they could see a large military transport helicopter. "They could send an army with one of those!"

"No. I only sense one." Ma-Ti reported.

JJ knew instantly. "Dad!"

* * *

One look at The Colonel's face was all they needed to see. He already knew.

"We tried to reach you, Colonel. But we were told you were currently on an Operation." Kwame told him. "The others know you're here?"

"No, I landed at the north end of the island. I thought it might be best if…" The older man shrugged. "Last time I set foot on this Island, I was with a full assault team, trying to figure out where a new continent came from. I thought I'd best avoid your own families, until I could ascertain… how much they knew."

"We haven't told them yet." Kwame acknowledged. "I assume the news…"

"No, not yet." The Colonel allowed. "But we had the battle at Hoover Dam under surveillance."

"Then the military is… aware of Gauntlet." Linka guessed.

"Yes." The Colonel nodded. "To be honest, until Hoover Dam, we weren't sure if they were connected to you or not, so there was a great deal of confusion on what to do about them."

"Did you know who they were?" Gi's voice was brittle.

"Why do you think we believed they were with _you_ the whole time?"

"Right." Gi said grimly. "Because what are the odds that our old friends and direct relations might decide to become our mortal enemies?"

"What about the Fifth Gauntlet?" Ma-Ti asked. "Do you have an ID?"

"There's a Fifth?" The soldier seemed surprised, and Ma-Ti let it go.

"I still can't believe it." Kwame admitted. "I know Matali. I've known him for years. This is more than unbelievable, it's downright illogical. It's completely out of his character."

"You can say that about all of them." Linka said, but inwardly, she didn't believe that. Trish Allen had already tried to sell them all for money. Her mother… Linka had no idea what was 'in character' for her mother. They'd barely spoken before the Planeteers were formed.

"What's the latest out of Vegas?" Linka asked.

The Colonel shook his head. "The Corporation Security Companies have taken over most of the Strip, and are fortifying it as they evacuate the One Percent crowd. The National Guard has already been driven out, and the military is trying to organize food and water drops to the suburbs. But the food supplies and the water tankers are all owned by The Corporation; and…"

Kwame nodded. "And let me guess: They've jacked the price up dramatically."

"No, worse. They've elected not to send anything. They've declared Vegas to be a write off, and they're not sending in any relief. It's now up to the people there to get out before they starve to death, or die of thirst." The Colonel looked like he had a bad taste in his mouth. "We've run evacuations before, for natural disasters. It's mostly about keeping order in the panicked crowds and keeping the transports on a schedule. I asked to be involved in the Evac, and… Well, I was hoping to get closer to you guys, but you were too fast for me; so I came here."

"You took a heavy transport aircraft to do it? That'll get you court martialed."

"Kwame, nobody showed up at the evacuation sites." The Colonel told him. "A million people have been told they have to leave, and about 99% of them have dug in. They'd rather just sit there and wait, than do something to save their own lives."

"A perfect metaphor for our particular problem is there ever was one." Kwame said lightly.

"I don't get it." Gi shook her head. "What's the goal?"

"We know that the chaos isn't natural." Kwame offered.

"Right, but… The Corporation isn't shy about creating chaos for profit, or hesitant about collateral damage." Gi reasoned out. "But… What's the profit here? Like in your hometown. There's no price gouging, no profiteering. So what is this?"

Silence.

"I'm going to see if we can get Gaia to talk to us yet." Ma-Ti said. "If we can't, I think I know why."

Linka set her jaw. There was one person she could ask, and she didn't need to go to the Cave.

* * *

"Ivana?" Alana's face was stone as Linka told the whole story. "Your mother is one of this new Team?"

Linka nodded, slowly seething. "Tell me it's not true, Grandmother." She said quietly. "Tell me it's a trick. Please?"

Alana said nothing.

"I have to talk to you, because you know her, and I don't." Linka rubbed her face again. "Please, tell me it's not her? Ma-Ti can control people, a little. We know there's a Fifth Gauntlet that can do it a lot more… Tell me that the only way this could happen was if someone forced them all… "

Alana sighed. "I wish I could, love. I really wish I could say this was out of character. But even without being under mind control… This is the sort of position your mother would take. She never gave an inch on anything or anybody. She and I had huge rows over it. I was furious with her, for keeping up her hunt for the guilty instead of seeing her daughter, but she never…"

"Never compromised." Linka said it with her. Linka felt completely numb, but the tears started up again, out of nowhere.

Her grandmother held out her arms and for once, Linka didn't fight it, breaking down on the old woman's shoulder. "I don't know why I'm acting like this." She croaked.

"It's called heartbreak, love."

"I know that, but... I don't get teary, I get angry." Linka sniffed. "Where's the legendary temper of mine when I need it?"

"You'll reach the anger stage eventually." Alana promised. "Right now, just let yourself feel whatever you need to feel. You lost love. I've been there, and it's the worst thing ever."

"I'm just like my mom." Linka croaked. "She killed Wheeler, and I'm just like her."

Something smashed behind them, and Linka spun. Ruby was there in the doorway, having dropped her plate. "Wheeler?" She said, horrified as only a little kid could be. "Wheeler's dead?"

Linka kicked herself fiercely, and tried to put a gentle look on her face. "Ruby-"

"NO!" Ruby shied away and ran out of the house as fast as she could.

Linka covered her face with her hands. "Gran?" She said weakly. "I had to tell JJ this morning. I can't do this again so soon."

"I'll handle it." Alana said soothingly. "You, go curl up and pretend you're not sobbing into your pillow."

"Thank you."

* * *

There wasn't really anything to do for the moment, and the Planeteers withdrew a little. Gi told her family. Ma-Ti retreated to the jungle with his own. Kwame had no family left. And of his closest friends, one was now the enemy.

Kwame wanted Gi, but knew to let her be with her family for a minute.

The Colonel walked with Kwame for a long moment. It took Kwame several minutes to realize that they were alone together. "Colonel, I don't know what to say right now, but… I am so sorry for-"

"Wheeler wouldn't blame you." The Colonel said instantly. "And before you go too far into your apologies, you should know that I've written letters to parents myself. There are never 'right' words to say when someone dies under your command."

"No, I suppose not." Kwame acknowledged. "But it's a first for me."

The older man nodded. Kwame peeked at him from the corner of his eye. His eyes were red, and his back was ramrod straight. "I wish I had some of that military discipline right now. I'll be honest with you, Colonel. I don't know what to do next."

"I'm told that you never wanted to be in charge." The Colonel mentioned. "I asked Wheeler why; and he said 'Because that's what he is'. It's a rare gift to be a natural leader without ever seeking to be in charge."

"And it felt right, if not easy." Kwame admitted. "Until today." He looked over awkwardly. "If I hadn't forced the fight, Wheeler would still be with us."

The Colonel let out a breath. "It's… easier to accept losses in your army when you win. If you hadn't forced the fight, they would have knocked down Hoover Dam anyway."

"I know." Kwame nodded. "In my head, I know that, but…"

"The Planeteers are an Army, and a match for any other army on the planet, even with exactly five members only. Not an easy team to lead, if you want to stay… detached." The Colonel looked old suddenly. "I believe in your cause, Kwame. Its a cause I was proud to have my son fighting for. No few generals in the Service have sons and daughters serving in the army. We all live in fear of the same thing. Same way JJ and Wheeler lived in mortal fear that they'd get the same call about me one day."

"Do you think Gauntlet is meant to replace us?" Kwame asked quietly.

"I don't pretend to understand who's giving you your marching orders, Kwame. But there's no army in history where you train an elite force by executing your current people." The Colonel said, voice hard. "You can't give up now, Kwame. My son gave his life for this cause, and you don't get to to surrender now."

"I never could." Kwame said quietly. "I just don't know how to keep fighting. We were five. Our whole… ability depended on the five of us working together." He couldn't meet the older man's gaze. _We may not be able to win this fight with four._

* * *

JJ was in Wheeler's greenhouse. Wheeler had grown fruit and vegetables in his own container garden, even in a Manhattan apartment. It had become JJ's responsibility, and Wheeler had started another indoor garden in his home on Hope Island.

"I asked you, once." JJ whispered to the gardening gloves, even as he pulled them on. "You have a tropical island full of downright supernaturally good soil, and you grow in a container. You said this was how you did it back home… Except you didn't anymore, by then."

There was a small knock on the door. JJ steeled himself. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the condolences, but he'd been through this with his mother's death. It did tend to smother him after a while. "Come in."

It was Ruby. She peeked around the door, looking very small. "Um… When my mom and dad died, Wheeler was nice to me… um…" She held out a small bouquet of violets. "He gave me some seeds; and he taught me how to make them grow into... well, these. I thought, maybe…"

JJ smiled a little bit, despite himself. "Violets. My mother's favorite."

Ruby came over and held out the flowers. "I'm sorry, JJ."

He gave the little kid a hug. "Thanks, Ruby." He said quietly. "He loved you too."

There was another light knock on the door. It was Gi. "JJ?" She said quietly. "Word's out. The press has it, and Lizzie Quinn confirmed it. They're reporting Wheeler's… Y'know. It's coming up if you want to see it?"

JJ nodded. "Yeah, I should."

* * *

 **BREAKING NEWS:**

"...And we've confirmed that James 'Wheeler' Johnson was indeed killed at Hoover Dam. As yet, we've had no official word from Gauntlet on the circumstances of his death. Elizabeth Quinn, spokesperson for The Planeteers, has expressed her condolences to the rest of the Team, and Wheeler's Family."

"A sad story, Dan. But you can't argue with the results. Las Vegas and parts of Los Angeles are now completely emissions-free for the first time."

"Right you are, Karen. Y'know, it's been said that Vegas is the biggest energy waster in America. Nice to know it isn't an issue anymore. The Corporation has announced that Las Vegas will not be salvaged. They say it isn't cost effective, and rebuilding elsewhere gives the opportunity to test new construction and more eco-friendly practises."

"A good day for the environment, Dan. I'm sure Wheeler would agree."

"And now the weather…"

* * *

Dead silence in the Communications Tent.

"That's it?" JJ whispered in disbelief. "All of this, for two years… And we get two sentences?"

Linka's face twisted into a furious snarl, and she stormed out, with a scream of frustration. JJ sent his father a look. The Colonel read his gaze, and went after her.

"This is surreal. This is downright unnatural." Gi growled.

"Yes, it is." Ma-Ti said. "And when something is not natural, then it must be, in fact…"

"Supernatural." Kwame finished for him. "Your own opposite number?"

Ma-Ti nodded. "I don't have a lot of personal connections, Kwame. If they picked someone close to us to wear a Gold-Gauntlet, then it's not a long list; and my parents are already here on the Island."

"You have someone in mind?"

"I do." Ma-Ti nodded.

JJ shook his head. "Ma-Ti, from what I understand, you need to be in a line of sight to do something like that. How can this other guy do it to the entire planet?!"

"Good question." Ma-Ti agreed. "And Kwame, I believe that breaking the power of the Fifth Gauntlet is the only way to get back to Gaia… and win this war."

The Planeteers looked at each other.

* * *

Linka had stormed away from the screen with no particular place to go, beyond a desire to stomp. She had stomped almost all the way to the edge of the forest. When upset, Linka went vertical, climbing up the nearest tree

It didn't help this time. She wanted desperately to hurt someone, but the only person who deserved it was her own mother.

She heard footsteps below her, and looked down to see Wheeler's father at the base of the tree, exactly the way his son had done. Looking down at him, Linka suddenly noticed the resemblance for the first time. She hooked her legs over the tree branch below her, and did a neat backwards roll off the branch, landing on her feet lightly at the ground. "So." She said coldly. "I reached the 'Anger' stage."

"Yup. I always said my son has terrible taste in women." The Colonel said grimly. "In Trish's case, I had no idea how right I was."

"Are you kidding? Trish is the one part of this Wheeler would be fine with." Linka commented.

The Colonel looked over. "What do you mean?"

Linka had stopped looking upset and sick to her stomach, and had become cold and totally untouchable. "Our opposite numbers. People we know. People we have personal connections to. If it wasn't 'Trash Alley', who was it going to be? You? JJ? Polly?"

The Colonel gave a single nod. "Well, I suppose there's no point in saying I would never do anything like that, since…"

"Since we can all say the same?" Linka agreed. "My own mother. I don't know how you can stand to be around us, Colonel. It was our people who killed your son."

"They aren't your people, Linka." The Colonel said coldly. "Wheeler was your people."

"Yes." Linka said evenly. "He was."

It was the first time she'd spoken of him in the past tense.

"I'm going to kill them all, Colonel." Linka said quietly. "I don't know how, but I'll end them; I promise. If Kwame says no, then I'll go alone. Without all five of us, there's little point to keeping the Team together, anyway."

"That's what Gauntlet thought." The Colonel said evenly. "You've been a soldier for a year, Miss Petrova. I've been one longer than you've been alive. One thing I've learned: The mission comes first."

"The only 'reinforcements' we've gotten so far have taken out one of our Army." Linka reminded him savagely. "And taken out a few small towns; which the news hasn't seemed to notice at all."

"Then stop them." The Colonel agreed. "You may be the only ones who can."

* * *

Half an hour later, Kwame called the meeting.

"Ma-Ti is of the opinion that what we're seeing on the news, the indifference to our last Tour, the sudden mania? Is not just the crowd being ornery. Ma-Ti believes that Team Gauntlet has a 'Heart' Power, just as they do for the rest of us."

"Makes sense." Linka agreed. "If The Gauntlets are like us, ramped up to the next level, then it stands to reason that the Heart Power would be too. I've seen Ma-Ti summon a wolfpack, or get a crowd together to listen in the middle of Central Park. I have no idea what he could do, ramped up to some other level; but…"

"Changing the story? Making people happy to hear something, instead of angry or scared?" Gi supplied. "Yeah. I could see that."

The Colonel agreed. "In Crowd Control situations, they warn you about doing anything to dial it up, even a little. Human nature is such that if the mob goes an inch further, the dumbest person in it will go an inch further still. Mob Rule is an easy thing to start moving on its own."

"That would explain the crazy that's pouring out of the world this week." JJ agreed. "But why weren't we affected?"

"Because you were with me." Ma-Ti explained. "The reason we haven't felt it, is… Because there's an opposing Force here."

"When we were at Hoover Dam, I tried to hold back Matali's Quake. I wasn't as strong as he was, but the opposing force was there."

"If the Gold-Gauntlet power can cover a huge population, then maybe my Ring power can oppose it enough to keep a smaller group safe." Ma-Ti summed up.

Silence, while they ticked that over in their heads.

"We can't take Team Gauntlet." Gi said finally. "We tried, and we got our asses handed to us. But we know that their powers don't combine, the way ours do. That's why they considered the fight to be over when Wheeler was… lost." She flicked her eyes to Linka awkwardly. "But if Gauntlet-Gold isn't with them…"

"You think Four against One is a better bet?" The Colonel reasoned.

"Might be more than that." Ma-Ti said. "If I take off this Ring, none of us can understand each other. If we're right about the world being… persuaded to go berserk, then breaking Gauntlet-Gold's power might be enough to…"

"To snap them out of it." Kwame finished. "And if the rest of Gauntlet is under mind control, it might free them too. That's why they're keeping him hidden. If we found the Fifth Gauntlet, we might actually have a chance of motivating the rest of the world."

"Him?" Gi asked automatically.

"Well, it's the only thing that fits. If the Fifth Gauntlet follows pattern, then it'd have to be someone we know, someone who is not on Hope Island, likely someone we haven't spoken to for an extended period. Someone that we'd be reluctant to fight." Kwame looked to Ma-Ti. "Your Ranger friend from the Amazon?"

"There's only one person in the world that it could be." Ma-Ti said, sounding unconcerned again.

"So, that's the plan. We take out the Heart-Power." Linka said harshly. "If we have to take them all out, one at a time, that works for me. When do we leave?"

* * *

"Hello?"

"Lizzie, it's Gi."

"Hey. You guys back at Hope Island already?"

"Been back for a day and a half, Quinn. I thought you knew our schedule."

"Yeah, well… What can I say? Your calendar went blank."

"Well, what would you say if I told you that we might have a way to fill it up again?" Gi said, and Lizzie could hear the smile in her voice.

Intrigued, Quinn asked for details. "Tell me."

"Everyone's talking about Team Gauntlet, right? But nobody really knows the inside story on them, or even who they are. In fact, we think there might actually be five of them."

"Five? Why do you say that?"

"Call it a hunch. You want to inside scoop on Team Gauntlet?"

"Well, I don't know, Gi. Is it really any of our business?" Lizzie said carefully. "I mean, I know you guys have a very personal stake in this, and all; but wouldn't it actually be _worse_ for the world if we tried to make celebrities out of the Gauntlet?"

"Somehow, I had a feeling you might say that." Gi said gamely. "But what if I told you that we were going to find the Fifth Gauntlet and invite him to Hope Island, and we wanted you to be there when we did?"

"Him?" Lizzie repeated the keyword.

"Ma-Ti believes he knows who it is. The rest of the world doesn't even know he exists, yet. So, we're going to try and take a crack at keeping the Planeteers together, and if we succeed, we'll need you. And if we fail… well, that's it for us; I guess." Gi admitted. "But we haven't had you to visit us on Hope Island before, and it's long overdue."

"Ooh. I'm getting excited." Lizzie trilled. "Where's Ma-Ti now?"

"Getting ready to leave. He's on his way to the Amazon, with Linka and Kwame. But I can get you here by boat, if you were willing to come?" Gi explained. "Please say yes. We're going to hold our own memorial for Wheeler, and…"

"Of course, I'll come."

"It's a private memorial. Just the family." Gi reminded her. "So… you can't bring anyone with you."

"No problem. I've been hobnobbing with celebrities and One Percent-ers for my entire adult life; I know how to drive a yacht."

* * *

 **BREAKING NEWS:**

"Authorities are warning people to avoid Fifth Avenue today, as the number of Gauntlet Parties only increases. While these parties are by invitation only, social media has no shortage of updates. The Jumper Count is up to five hundred and twelve; all of them Oil and Coal executives and investors. Hashtag 'TryToFly' has been trending for over three hours."

"In related news, Wall Street had a bad day today as all Oil and Coal stocks plunged from rapid buy-offs. For more on this, we go to Max Phuket, our Financial Corrospondent. Max, what can you tell us?"

"Dan, it's incredible to see. What was one of the largest and wealthiest lobby's on the Global Market suddenly became borderline radioactive. I've spoken with reps from most of these firms, and they all say the same thing: It was time to do the right thing."

"Why today instead of any other day?"

"Well, I'll be honest with you, Dan.; we don't know. There's all sorts of rumors flying around. The main theory is that the Gauntlet has made the Fossil Fuel Industries too dangerous to have. Either that or the #TryToFly movement is spreading faster than we thought."

"Either way, it's good news for the world, right Max?"

"Right you are, Dan. People are selling so fast that they had to close the market four hours early. There's speculation that Japan's Market will fall into the ocean by sundown."

"Heh. Exciting times, indeed."

* * *

Lizzie Quinn had found a high-powered Private yacht waiting, rented under her name; and she set course for Hope Island.

Several hours after being out of sight of land, Lizzie noticed an aircraft gliding by overhead. It made no sound, and was bright yellow. Everyone on earth knew the Geo-Cruiser. The hatch opened, and Lizzie saw Gi walk out on the wing, before doing a neat swan-dive from the air, into the ocean.

The Geo-Cruiser turned west, and flew away with surprising speed. Lizzie kept an eye on it as she went to the edge of the deck. For a moment, she could see the windstorm gathering behind it, and then it was too far away to be sure.

Lizzie tossed a ladder over the edge of the Yacht, down to the water, but it was unnecessary. A column of water formed alongside her yacht, like something out of a movie; with Gi standing on the fountain.

Lizzie applauded as Gi stepped onto the deck, dry as a bone. "Where's a camcorder when you need one?"

"Oh, who uses a camcorder anymore?" Gi grinned toothily. "Last time I did that was six months ago, with my parents houseboat. Somehow I managed to get that thing across the Pacific." She gestured at the high-powered Yacht. "I don't know if I'm needed here, but I can at least wipe half a day off your arrival time."

"Are we in a rush?"

"I was hoping to beat Ma-Ti and the others back to Hope Island." Gi explained. "I'm not really sure what's going to happen when they get back, but they wanted me to get the cave ready."

"The Cave?" Lizzie blinked. "What's that?"

Gi chuckled. "And I guess we'd better give you the full tour, too."

Quinn smiled. "Ever been on a private Yacht before, Water Sprite?"

"Visited a few. Fundraisers and such. Everyone wanted to get a picture of me near water back then." Gi looked a little sad. "I say 'back then' like it wasn't three weeks ago when everything was normal."

"Take it from someone in showbiz, babe. There's a new normal every three weeks now." Lizzie told her. "Well, autopilot's set, and the engines are at max. If the waves work for us, there's no reason we can't be there before tomorrow morning."

"We'll still beat the others back by several hours." Gi nodded. "Ma-Ti wants to… sneak up on this guy, get to know the Amazon again, feel his way in."

"Why?" Quinn asked.

"He thinks the Fifth Gauntlet is an old friend of his from home. A Park Ranger. And if Sergei doesn't want to talk, he'll have a large Amazon full of living things that he can Ma-Ti can wrestle over."

"I don't know why you guys are fighting it." Lizzie commented. "But Hope Island is your dance hall, and until you officially disband, I work for you, so you get to call the tune."

Gi was already at the TV. "You heard about the Market?"

"The Economy? Sure, but it's not like _you_ haven't driven a few companies to bankruptcy."

"A few logging companies that focused on the Northwest or the Amazon exclusively, sure… But that's a few companies, not whole countries." She looked over. "I read somewhere that every time unemployment goes up 1%, forty thousand people die." Gi rubbed her eyes. "It was working, Lizzie. Renewables, Reforestation… The Pro-Environment industries were creating more profit and more employment than the Fossil Fuel companies were. Then Gauntlet wiped out Vegas, and its all tanked!"

"It was Vegas, Gi. Sin City. Having it wiped out by natural disaster is borderline biblical." Lizzie shrugged. "Everyone on the news seems to think it's a good thing."

"Yeah." Gi said flatly. "Yeah, they do."

* * *

In a room, deep underground, surrounded by nothing but cold concrete, and only one light, receded deep into the wall, Wheeler woke up with a pained gasp.

He looked around like a caged animal, trying to find a way out. There was a door, but the seams between the wall and door was almost imperceptible.

"...'ey?" Wheeler croaked, cleared his throat, and tried again. "Hello?!" He called. He put his hand on the thick concrete wall… and noticed his Ring was gone. "HEY! I'm awake in here! Where am I?!"

There was no answer.

* * *

 **AN:** _In the week since the last chapter, the entire EU has banned a major wide-spread pesticide, which was demonstrated to be killing bees._

 _More than 40 companies, including Coca Cola have pledged to slash their plastic pollution, and eliminate single-use packaging._

 _Australia is starting a pilot program to use Solar Panels to distil clean water in drought-stricken areas; and are also committing over a third of a billion dollars to protect and restore the Great Barrier Reef._

 _Puerto Rico experienced another state-wide blackout, but since the last time, several solar-grids have been set up; and they were unaffected. Could the message be any clearer?_

 _And a London-Based Investment Firm worth 1.2 trillion dollars, has announced that they will yank funding from any company that does not tackle Climate Change._

 _And again, these positive stories all came out in the last week. Hang in there folks. The Power Is Yours._


	6. Zarm

The Yacht arrived at Hope Island with the dawn. Gi had helped the Yacht along for several hours while Lizzie cooked up a meal in the plush kitchenette; and they? let the boat run on autopilot while getting a good night? sleep.

Lizzie was wearing the same jacket and ski-cap that she was when Gi had come aboard. "Don't you feel the cold?" She asked of Gi, still in her t-shirt and cargo shorts. "The ocean winds aren't exactly warm."

"Plenty of warm when the sun rises, believe me." Gi promised. "So, first stop on the tour, the Crystal Cave." She went to the carports. "It's a fair hike, but we can take the ATV's."

Lizzie's head was on a swivel the entire time they walked. It wasn't clear if she was taking it all in, or looking for something in particular, but her eyes never stopped moving even once.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Gi called from the driver's seat.

"Very nice." Lizzie admitted, and Gi pulled the ATV to a halt, at the base of the mountain.

"This is the most important place on the island." Gi said seriously. "You're the first person we've ever brought here. Other than the Planeteers, there has only been one other, and he was actually sleepwalking when he found the place."

"I'm honored." Lizzie said, still looking left and right. "There's something… Something's wrong. Where's…"

Gi hauled off and physically threw Lizzie into the Crystal Cave…. Where the others were waiting.

"Hello, Lizzie." Ma-Ti said, steel in his eyes.

Linka took two steps forward, and ripped Lizzie's jacket sleeve, tearing it off the rest of the jacket…

Revealing the Gauntlet with the bright Golden Jewel.

Lizzie glared at Ma-Ti with something approaching raw hatred, and brought up her Gauntlet, which shone brightly.

Linka let out a cry of pure agony as she felt her heart stop instantly. She dropped, seizing and thrashing, as Quinn's power over life force sucked hers away. On some level, she could hear Gi and Kwame screaming as the same happened to them.

"No." Ma-Ti said firmly, and raised his own ring.

The others gasped again, as their hearts started beating again.

Lizzie glanced back at them, and they all howled again, dropping. Ma-Ti bared his teeth in response, and they all started gasping again.

Lizzie grinned cruelly. "I can do this all day, Ma-Ti. How long can I send them into Cardiac Arrest before they don't want to play anymore?"

Ma-Ti took one step forward. "Long enough to distract you."

Lizzie looked down, and found a large viper sliding over her shoe. She kicked out automatically, but a snake's strike was faster than the eye could follow, and Lizzie yelled as the venom went deep. She lurched away, towards the trees.

Ma-Ti let her go, and crouched down next to Kwame. "Are you okay?"

Kwame was clutching at his chest, gasping for air. Ma-Ti rested his Ringed hand on Kwame's chest and the stone glowed.

Kwame sat up, hands still shaking, as energy flowed into him. "Stay on her. I'll tend the others."

Linka had rolled to her hands and knees, still unable to stand. "I'm going too."

"Linka, rest." Ma-Ti told her.

"You can't t-take her alone." Linka coughed. "We agreed, Ring Powers Combine."

Ma-Ti was already out of the Cave. "She's in the Jungle, Linka. I have all the backup I need."

"What about her?!"

* * *

Quinn was losing feeling in her legs, as the venom spread. She kept moving. The Jungle followed the sheer side of the Mountain. She could feel the animals watching her, crying out their hoots and whistles and screams as she passed.

"You can control humans." Ma-Ti said, gliding through the jungle like he was one of it's creatures. "You can't do it to animals?"

"Humans can be exploited. I don't need to tell you their hearts are easily corruptible. You can't turn the cold-hearted. I can. Animals don't have that… vulnerability." Lizzie called back, stumbling over the roots and vines that packed in tightly around them. "How do you control them?"

"The animals? I don't." Ma-Ti called back. "But they understand that helping me can help them too. They aren't that smart, but they know I'm part of… well."

"Part of the pack?" Lizzie snarled, and suddenly dropped. The poison was reaching her heart.

"It's over, Liz." Ma-Ti said, closing in on her.

Lizzie stood up, weaving on her feet. "You think so?" She grated out. She spread her arms wide, and started to breathe in slowly. A long inhalation that didn't stop.

Ma-Ti felt it start, rolling across his higher senses, and he turned to run. Twenty feet ahead of him, he saw Linka, struggling to catch up, and he waved at her quickly. "Run! Run away! Get Clear!"

Linka was still weak on her feet, and was struggling to run fast. Ma-Ti tackled her down, and threw himself across her. She was almost a foot taller than him, but he covered his teammate as best he could. Linka could feel energy pouring into her from Ma-Ti, and she could feel the exact moment when it suddenly flowed the other way. Linka let out a short scream, but it only lasted a moment.

Ma-Ti spun back to his feet. Linka lifted her head blearily, and looked. Lizzie was vertical again. The venom in her system was nothing to her now, and there was almost thirty feet of pure wasteland circling her. Every blade of grass, every tree, every flower and creature, had all withered away to rot. It took Linka a moment to realize it, but Quinn was looking ten years younger and full of energy.

"I just sucked every ounce of life-force from thirty feet of Jungle, Ma-Ti." Lizzie smirked. "Your island isn't THAT big. And you want to know what all that energy flowing through my veins can do?" She balled her fists. "Because I'd LOVE to find out!"

Lizzie lunged forward, fueled by the energy she had just taken, she moved faster than any human had a right to. Ma-Ti could barely follow her movements as she zipped right up in his face.

The pain hit him an instant later as his world went sideways. The ground jumped up at him, and Ma-Ti struggled to get back to his feet.

With another thud, Linka hit the ground beside him, but she wasn't content to look before striking back. "WIND!"

The dead section of Jungle suddenly exploded into motion as the dust kicked up in a windstorm. Ma-Ti raised his own Ring, feeding his power into the storm that Linka was creating. Ma-Ti saw Kwame getting closer, still a little weak from having his heart stopped, but his Ring was glowing a bright emerald Green, and the dust suddenly grew thicker and heavier, drawing the shape of the tornado Linka was creating.

"You want Energy?!" Linka roared across at Quinn. "Dust and dirt rubbing against each other at high speed creates friction. Turn that loose with warm, dry air, it turns to static charge…" She looked fiercer and angrier than she ever had since Wheeler died. "I've never tried to be this exact with it, Quinn. But it seems like a good time to try!"

The Lightning speared across the one section a clear blue sky that was full of storm clouds. The lightning hammered downwards, lighting up a small tornado which swung around the base of the mountain.

* * *

Huddled at the huts closer to the beach, Alana was watching the woods with a jaded eye. The trees were waving back and forth as the earth shook. Thunder cracked and rumbled from the mountaintop. They could see as the trees flash-died, turning to brittle rot in seconds. The jungle was vanishing in huge chunks, even before the tornado hit them.

"So, this is what happens when superheroes go to war." JJ said beside her.

"I don't like it." Ruby said behind JJ, being very small.

 _"She's coming for you!"_ Ma-Ti's voice rolled across their hearts. _"Run!"_

* * *

The lightning hadn't been that accurate, but it didn't have to be.

Even so, Lizzie Quinn was on the run. She'd drawn enough life energy from her surroundings that she'd survived several near misses from the storm, but she knew she needed a change of strategy. Four against one was almost a fair fight, and she wasn't interested in playing that out.

As Lizzie ran towards the beach, she left a trail of anti-life behind her, drawing all life from her surroundings as she ran through them. The trees turned to rot around her, animals sucked dry to cracked bones, dying mid-squawk and scream.

And as the tall grass boiled away in front of her, she suddenly came across two people, looking scared, and trying to escape her. She turned to look at them. They were slashing their way through the jungle underbrush as quickly as they could, trying to keep ahead of her.

"Mister and Mrs Costa." Lizzie said with a savage grin. "How nice to see you again."

Ma-Ti's parents turned to run. She lifted her Gauntlet, and aimed it at them. "Freeze!" She ordered, sending her power at them.

They did so, not moving.

"Mister Costa, draw your Machete, please."

Ma-Ti's father did so. Neither of them were moving.

"MA-TI! She called out loudly. "I have your parents! Come where I can see you, or I'll make them _eat_ each other. You know I can do it!"

"I do." A small voice said quietly, and Lizzie spun. Ma-Ti was right at her hip. The other Planeteers were at the edge of the devastation. Five Weapons of Life, walking on the scorched wasteland that surrounded Lizzie Quinn.

Lizzie looked at him carefully, eyes flicking to his parents, who hadn't moved. "Now. Take off your Ring, Ma-Ti; and hand it to your father." Her lip twisted. "Wouldn't want to risk you getting too close to me, would we?"

Ma-Ti didn't hesitate, removing his Ring, and holding it out to his father, who took it with his free hand. The other Planeteers looked at each other bleakly.

"Now, Mister Costa…" Lizzie said, like she was savoring some delicious thought. "You will hand me the Ring… and kill your son with that machete."

Kwame and Gi barely understood what she was saying, but they saw all too clearly when Ma-Ti's father stepped to a point directly between Ma-Ti and Quinn, raised his Machete high in the air, ready to strike…

And then spun around to bring the blade down hard across Lizzie's left arm, slicing it off, halfway between the elbow, and the Gauntlet she wore. With a spray of blood, the silver Gauntlet dropped to the ground, and the Golden Stone within it went dark.

Lizzie shrieked, going completely insane, thrashing about, spraying blood everywhere.

Ma-Ti didn't even look surprised, but he stepped forward and helped his father wrestle her still, as Ma-Ti took off his belt and tied it like a tourniquet around her severed limb.

The other Planeteers were beyond shocked, absolutely stunned as Ma-Ti slipped his Ring back on and waved them over. "Hurry! We need her alive! It's safe now!"

Lizzie was still shrieking like a madwoman, but it didn't sound like pain. It was sheer terror.

Ma-Ti was looking at her with pure sympathy on his face. "Poor thing."

"She _has_ been trying to kill us for the better part of the last ten minutes." Linka pointed out. "We don't have to do anything, you know. Even with the Tourniquet, nature will take its course in a few minutes."

Colonel Johnston strode up to join them and hoisted Lizzie up off the ground. She was still howling crazily, with more energy than she should have, given her injuries. The Colonel strode away with her. "I'm going back to the chopper. There's medical equipment there."

"Why are you saving her?" Linka asked, not really trying to stop him.

"Because she killed my son, and I'm not about to let Ma-Ti's father end it for me." He said, and stalked away. Linka went with him, eyes focused on their prisoner.

"How did that work, by the way?" Kwame asked. "I only understood up to the point where you took your Ring off, but how does your father resist her orders?"

Ma-Ti winced. "I… We spent the last six months figuring out how my parents can resist my instructions. They don't work on everyone. And the only way they could ever make sure about me is if I couldn't do anything with them _at all_. They may just be the only two people completely immune to my suggestions. Apparently, Lizzie's powers work the same way, just more powerfully." He glanced at the others. "If you think you'll be alright, I should go and help with Lizzie. Between me and a military-grade medic, we might be able to keep her alive long enough to tell us what's going on."

Ma-Ti's father was rubbing his head, looking like he'd been on a week-long bender. He watched his son leave, and made his confession to Kwame. "Even so, it was hard to hold on." He admitted. "If she'd told me to do anything else, I don't think I could have resisted her."

Gi, meanwhile, had made her way to the silver Gauntlet, laying on the ground, still wrapped around Quinn's severed limb. It was the first time she had seen one up close. "I think I might just lock this away somewhere, look it over carefully."

"I think that might be wise." Kwame said darkly. "I'm going to track down the rest of our friends, give them the all-clear."

Gi nodded, already on her new puzzle. "What do I do with the… arm?"

* * *

"And it all came down to Ma-Ti's guilt about misusing his power." Linka said darkly. "If he hadn't been so desperate to get his parents trust back, we wouldn't have won this thing."

The Colonel smirked tightly. "Any battle you win with minimal casualties."

"That's my point, sir. We _lost_ this one. Four against one and we got a draw, until that machete got involved."

"Aren't you always the ones saying that 'The Power Is Ours' or some such? Is that a slogan, or a fact?"

Linka settled. "Still, it doesn't look good for my 'one by one' plan."

Ma-Ti came out of the chopper, looking tired. "She'll live. She's still unconscious now, but she'll survive. With a lot of help from me, we were able to heal over that wound. It took a lot out of her though. She'll take quite a while to regain her strength."

"Even so, we should keep her under guard." The Colonel said. "I'll take the first watch. Ma-Ti, I think the rest of your team needs your help more than I do."

"I think you're right." Ma-Ti agreed, and started walking back to their settlement. Linka kept pace with him.

"So, we'll keep her nice and healthy for the hangman, then." Linka sneered.

"Linka, I don't claim to know how this started, but she doesn't have that Gauntlet anymore. I don't know if they were bought off, or mind controlled, but I do know that the only person who can answer that question is sleeping on a cot in the chopper right now." Ma-Ti reasoned.

Linka deflated. "I know. We won. The list of people who are responsible for Wheeler's death is down by one. I don't know why I'm acting like this."

"I do." Ma-Ti said. "It's because your mother is on Team Gauntlet. If they're being forced, then you have to save her, and if she's not, then she's the enemy. Either way, how do you avenge Wheeler without going _through_ your own mom?"

Linka looked down at her shoes as they walked. "The Bad Guys keep changing the rules, don't they?"

"Only way they win." Ma-Ti wasn't even surprised.

* * *

 **BREAKING NEWS:**

"We're pleased to report that skirmishes have broken out in… I mean… What?"

"Dan?"

"Is that… is that the right script on the prompter? Did I write that?"

"Dan, we're on the air."

"I know that, but… What are we _saying_?!"

* * *

Lizzie Quinn woke up and screamed like a junkie going through withdrawal in a torture chamber. She wasn't just screaming, she was shrieking. She threatened to kill them all, and when that didn't do anything she begged them for mercy, and when that didn't do anything she pleaded for them to kill her…

It took a full thirty hours for her to finally stop.

* * *

"Lizzie scares me." Gi said quietly, snuggling tightly into Kwame's side. Every moment they weren't 'on duty' with their prisoner, they were flat out clinging to each other.

Kwame held her tightly. "Me too."

"Even Linka's starting to crack. Quinn just screams and screams and…" Gi snuggled tighter. "We went straight from losing Wheeler to our attack on Lizzie. It's..."

"Finally starting to sink in?" Kwame finished for her. "Yeah. I know what you mean..." The huge man was crying softly. "The worst part is, when I saw Matali's face, my first thought was..."

"...How glad you were to see him alive." Gi finished for her boyfriend and kissed his face tenderly. "Linka's hiding whatever she's feeling beneath all that ice of hers. Ma-Ti... I never know what to make of him. Ruby and JJ haven't let each other alone since we got back." She snuggled tighter still. "I actually feel bad that I don't feel worse. Cho wasn't as close to me as he clearly thought he should be; and it's... It's only just starting to sink in that Wheeler's really gone." She felt his arms tighten around her and she looked up at him. "Are you okay?"

"Not even close." Kwame admitted.

"Thank God. I never would have been able to take it if you'd been rolling with this like everything else." Gi sighed hard. "I have no idea what to think now. I'm logistics and tech on this team. We count on you to make decisions, Linka and Wheeler to fight, and Ma-Ti to make it all work. I'm the one that's supposed to have the facts, all nice and neat. But I'm watching the news, and I don't have a clue how to lay a line along what's happening. The world is breaking all the rules."

"So, for once, you can't verify the data." Kwame nodded, kissing the top of her head. "What do you _think_?"

"I think… that there's a reason Lizzie was never revealed in that video to the public. I think there's a reason why nobody ever saw her in our battle at Hoover Dam. It didn't matter who the Fifth Gauntlet was, masked or not. It's the fact that Ma-Ti had an opposite number at all."

"Because as long as people didn't know that, there's only one person with Mind Control powers." Kwame agreed. "Think they're going to pin this on Ma-Ti?"

"I already took care of that." Gi promised.

"Good."

"You want to know how?"

"No need. I trust you."

Gi raised herself on an elbow to look at him. "I trust you too." She said, more seriously than she'd ever professed her love.

Kwame understood why she was being so serious. Some of their oldest friends had just killed Wheeler. Trust was non-existent for the Planeteers right now. Gi was giving all of hers to Kwame, and vice versus.

* * *

 **BREAKING NEWS:**

"There has still been no official word from Hope Island's Spokesperson, Elizabeth Quinn, but the Planeteers have not been silent since… since word of Wheeler Johnston's passing."

"Another part of the last week that seems unbelievable now is the… callous reaction to that news. But, for now at least, what was their response?"

"Planeteer Gi Takashi has posted an intriguing picture on the Hope Island Social Media feeds. It is unquestionably a picture of a Gauntlet; identical to those worn by the Team Gauntlet members. You can see here that the only difference, is that this Gauntlet has a golden stone set into it."

"There's another difference too, Dan. The one in the picture is covered in blood."

"This is true. Gi Takashi also included a message with the picture, which reads: 'There was a Fifth Gauntlet, and their hold over the world has now been broken. We ask that everyone stay calm, as we work to stop the other four, and mourn our friend'."

"The reaction has been… mixed; to say the least. We've received no official word from anyone in government, commerce, The Corporation, not even Religious Leaders. Nobody wants to speak first on this matter."

"Well, Dan… Maybe it's not my place, but I'd like to speak."

"Karen Gyllis, with her own personal statement."

"I think the reason nobody wants to speak first, is because nobody wants to declare that they weren't themselves. And I don't know if that's because nobody wants to admit weakness, or if maybe… speaking for myself, it's hard to tell where this 'spell' began and what was just 'me' being myself. I'm frustrated. I'm angry. I'm scared. And when I saw the things going on the last week… when I saw oil tankers being mobbed in the harbor, and the… all of it. Part of me was glad to see it."

"Karen, I don't… I can't…"

"It's okay. I'm not speaking for the station, or anyone else on staff tonight, and if you wanna fire me; I'll understand. Please hear me when I say that I don't wish violence or harm on anyone. But that anger was there. I don't know what happened, but it didn't change me. It just fed the flame. And I think that the reason nobody has come forward to say so is because we're all looking at ourselves, and seeing the flame was always there. It's not an easy thing to admit, when the worst parts of you are running the show for a while."

* * *

Linka hadn't come out of her hut for a full day. Alana brought her food, but the door was barricaded from the other side. On day two, Alana forced the issue, smashing a window with a rock.

Linka appeared at the window a moment later. "Are you crazy?"

"Take pity on an old woman and let me in the front door." Alana shot back.

Linka let her in, looking listless. "I'm not hungry, grandmother."

"I know. But your body doesn't recognize that. You're sick in the heart, and if you don't want the rest of you to follow, you need to make yourself take in some fuel."

Linka ate mechanically, not even tasting it, or noticing what it was. "How's Ruby?"

"Sad." Alana said. "Like when he parents died. She hasn't been speaking much. JJ's been looking after her. He says it's what Wheeler would have done."

"There's a lot of Wheeler in JJ." Linka said quietly.

"There's a growing amount of Ruby in you." Alana returned.

"That's why she's taking this so badly." Linka admitted. "I..." She shook her head.

"No, go on." Alana pressed. "What were you going to say?"

"I was just thinking, that once the fight was over, we could mourn." Linka said quietly. "And we all seem to do it by becoming... more like ourselves. Ma-Ti retreated into his power. Gi turns to the facts, cataloguing everything she can. Kwame is rock solid, as sturdy as a mountain range... And me? This is the first time I've spoken aloud in almost thirty hours." She looked at the broken glass Alana had left. "You know, it's not easy, being this... frosty. Takes a lot of effort, pushing the feelings away."

"I know." Alana said quietly.

"I know I'm not the most healthy person, emotionally. JJ saw me with Wheeler once, and remarked that he and I were Fire and Ice, more than Fire and Wind." Linka looked over. "It wasn't easy, staying this cold, and over the last two days, I wondered why I clung to it so hard."

"Letting other people in is hard, Linka." Alana sighed. "There's no way to do it without trusting them not to let you down."

"I know. And I guess that was why. Thing is, I was chosen for this team while I was that icy warrior." Linka shivered. "And then along came Wheeler, and he was easy to dismiss, until he wasn't anymore."

"I asked Wheeler once why he kept poking you with a stick." Alana almost smiled. "He told me once that he could tell you had to have a volcano under all that ice somewhere."

"He wasn't wrong." Linka admitted. "I shut him down so often I didn't even notice it after a while, but... Sometimes, just sometimes... God, I wanted to feel it. I wanted..." Her voice spoke spoke of a deep craving. "I wanted to _Burn_."

* * *

Ma-Ti was always with Lizzie, even when others were there. Her mental collapse was jarring, horrifying… Ma-Ti was taking it all in so serenely it was like he couldn't hear her shriek.

But finally, after two days, she came out of it. Enough to answer questions. And ask them.

* * *

"How did you know?" Lizzie croaked.

"When we first met the Gauntlet, we had just called you." Ma-Ti said quietly. "We saw that Kwame's old mine had been hit by someone with elemental powers, and we'd been framed for murder before, so we called our PR expert. Within an hour, we were face to face with them. Also, the world was swiftly being turned on a dime towards despair and rage. Our agent would have words for us if our profile was suddenly dropping. So, you were either under the spell first, or the one casting it." He gestured at his Ring. "I know what I can do. The amount of influence we've seen exhibited over the world was more than even a Gauntlet could offer."

Lizzie nodded weakly. "Unless you put that Gauntlet in a room with all the people who made policy, formed public opinion, got on television…"

"Right. And then, when you asked where I'd be at when you got here, we knew for sure." Ma-Ti said.

"Well, you're a regular detective, huh?" She fought to sit up, and didn't quite make it. "Ooh."

Ma-Ti came over with a bottle of water and some fruit slices. "Drink. I can only imagine how long it's been."

Lizzie reached for the bottle… with her severed arm. "Oh. Wasn't a dream."

"No." Ma-Ti admitted. "I won't apologize. You and your team killed a LOT of people. We're far from even."

Lizzie couldn't meet his gaze. "I know."

Silence. Ma-Ti just waited.

Lizzie sipped slowly and confessed. "You were on a mission." She said quietly. "I got tips here and there, about things you might like to know. There was this one tip… They were going to destroy some evidence, and even bury a few people with it. I couldn't reach you. Frequently can't, when you're off on missions. I placed calls to every cop I knew, but it wasn't a US location, and I didn't know law enforcement people that could get there in time…"

"And then someone made you an offer." Ma-Ti nodded.

Lizzie still wouldn't look at him. "It was like he was reading my mind, Ma-Ti. Talking about the things you guys can do, and how everyone wants to see more, and how… How it wasn't that difficult to be a Planeteer. All I needed was the right… Patron."

"The one thing we never told people." Ma-Ti admitted. "Where our powers came from."

"My first taste was free." Lizzie croaked. "I had The Gauntlet, and I went myself. A gesture, a word… I stopped them from what they were doing, got them to march to the nearest police station and confess. Got the police to expedite the paperwork, rush the charges through, and then forget I was ever there." She looked at him finally. "It was so _easy_ , Ma-Ti. It was just _so_ easy. Becoming evil shouldn't be that easy, should it?"

"You liked it."

"Being the hero. Changing people into what I wanted them to be…" She looked at the boy, beseeching him. "When I started, I wanted to be good. That means something, right?"

"So your Patron gave you another mission."

Quinn nodded. "Before I knew it, Zarm had me. He called it 'training'. You guys were only half interested in the celebrity side of your work. It was easy to avoid being in a room with all five of you. Easier still to do it all over the phone and have The Foundation handle all calls."

Ma-Ti shook his head. "And the calls stopped coming in. We thought it was apathy creeping back into people. We thought that people were losing interest and ceasing to care. In reality, they just had someone else to talk to."

"And talk about." Lizzie nodded sickly. "It was so easy, Ma-Ti. Agent Petrova went on missions all the time, and was about as good at communicating as her daughter. She wanted to actually achieve more than cleaning up the messes. Cho was bitter and resentful at not being worth so much as a phone call from the girl he had a crush on. Matali was a proud young man who wanted to do as much as Kwame, Trish was willing to sell you for money, how much moreso for power?"

Ma-Ti sighed. "That simple. It was that simple."

Lizzie looked away again. "With a little help from me. We all have our parts to play. My job was to keep the world smiling, including the rest of the Team."

"Then they _are_ being controlled." Ma-Ti asked carefully.

"Ohh, it's far more… subtle than that. I told you, all the reasons were there. I don't change minds, I just… change the risk/reward balance a little. Everyone's a hero if they aren't scared. Everyone's a villain if they don't care. I wasn't being coerced, I liked it." She looked at her arm. "Or I used to, anyway." She looked sick. "God, how do they stand it? How can they _live_ like _this_?"

Ma-Ti looked down at his Ring. "A question I asked myself once in a while. Hence the need to put safeguards in place with my parents. If I'm to have any chance at being their son, I can never influence them again." He looked sideways at her. "Who would _you_ refuse to control, Lizzie?"

She didn't have an answer for that.

Ma-Ti got back on topic. "So. If your job was to give them a little push, what happens now that you aren't there to push them anymore? Does Gauntlet surrender now?"

"Not on your life." Quinn shook her head. "My little talent wasn't for the rest of Gauntlet. That was convenience. My job was to control the message for the world. Gauntlet has… other interested parties, with a more specific focus."

Ma-Ti's eyes flashed. "And… just who is that interested party?"

 **I will tell you.**

Ma-Ti jumped. "Gaia!"

Lizzie Quinn started to shake. "Right. That was my main job. To… put a wall between you and her."

Ma-Ti was up and running towards the door, until he immediately remembered he was the one watching Lizzie. He grabbed her good arm and hauled her upright. "Start walking."

* * *

Wheeler looked up as he heard the door groaning open. The door had been so solid and tight against the wall that he was barely aware of the seams, but it hardly mattered since the door hadn't opened once. Not even for food.

There was no toilet in his cell. He'd been going to the corner of the room. On the second day, a nozzle opened in the ceiling and dumped cold water on the room, heavy enough that it had filled to ankle depth, and cleaned out the corner, and everything else. The water kept running long enough for Wheeler's thirst to get the better of him, and he tried tasting it. It was fresh, and Wheeler had drunk his fill.

The room had spent the following day drying out. It had been a lifetime since Wheeler had felt damp and cold, and in the whole time, Wheeler hadn't seen or heard another person.

Until finally, the door opened, and in walked Stumm.

"Well." The old man creaked with a satanic grin. "You look like homemade crap on a stick."

Wheeler looked him over carefully. "So do you." He said finally. "Whatever you're on, cut the dose." It wasn't a joke. Stumm looked forty pounds underweight, his skin had turned an unhealthy shade… And unless the last four days had made Wheeler's nose malfunction completely, Stumm stank vaguely of death.

"How do you like solitary confinement?" Stumm asked.

"I hummed all the songs I could remember after the first day." Wheeler returned. "After that it all went downhill." He gestured. "You could at least have brought food."

Stumm blinked, as if dreaming. "Food… Yes, I remember food..."

* * *

The Planeteers were gathered in the Crystal Cave soon after. Lizzie Quinn was there too, trembling in the corner, terrified to look at the pool of water.

The Colonel stayed to watch the prisoner. He had no idea what was happening, or why the Planeteers suddenly seemed happier, but he wanted to keep an eye on the prisoner anyway. JJ had been in the cave before, and let himself in to join them.

But when the pool of water in the Crystal Cave lit up, their host had everyone's attention.

Gaia's voice was a familiar sound to the Planeteers, but rarely had she shown a physical form. It seemed somewhat like a beautiful young woman, only too... overwhelming. 'She' seemed to be made from many things, like standing water, and smooth ice, and rich soil. Her lips parted with the warmth of golden sunlight and her eyes held impossible ancient calm.

The Colonel forgot about Lizzie Quinn completely. He was staring, jaw dropped so low he nearly drooled on his uniform. "That can't be real. That just can't be true."

Lizzie believed, and she was curled against the stone wall, as small as she could be. "Hide me from her!" She begged quietly, head buried in her own shirt.

 **It's good to see you all again.** Gaia said to her Planeteers. **I've been trying to reach you for some time.**

"It's good to hear from you, too." Kwame said quietly. "We were starting to think we were on our own in this."

"Gaia, what the hell is going on?" Linka demanded. "Where did those Gauntlets come from?"

 **This is a story I have not told anyone, for the simple reason there was nobody to tell, until now.**

"We have time."

 **Then listen.** Gaia told them, and began the story. **His name is Zarm.**

JJ twitched. "I… I've heard that before."

* * *

Across the world, Wheeler was getting the same story. "What's a 'Zarm'?"

Stumm grinned wolfishly. "He's Gaia's dirty secret. He's like her."

Wheeler said nothing. He hadn't heard any of this.

"What? Did you think she was the only one?" Stumm cackled.

* * *

 **I told you that the powers I granted you are strongest when they work together in harmony. All natural forces do. But you know now the powers you have can also be used destructively.**

"To say the least." The Colonel commented.

 **Destruction can be a force of creation. Burning off a thick layer of weeds can encourage new shoots to grow. Washing away an obstruction can allow a river to flow, or a pool to form and fill. But these are acts of life. I am the personification of that Life, both creative and destructive. And then one day, I found I had an opposite number. It was so long ago that I can barely remember it, and that's saying something, given how long I can remember. His name is Zarm, and we are playing a very Long Game.**

"What does he want?" Gi asked, intrigued.

 **An Ending.**

"Of what?"

 **Me.**

* * *

"Why am I alive?" Wheeler asked finally. "You're not an idiot, and even if you were, Zarm isn't. He doesn't think a bullet is 'too good for his enemy'. A guy who's been pure anti-life for a billion years has no interest in gloating to a mere human. So why am I alive?"

"What on earth makes you think he wants you dead?" Stumm cackled.

"Well… pretty much everything I've heard about him so far." Wheeler pointed out.

"Wheeler…" Stumm said his name like a prayer, stroking bony, icy fingers over the younger face. "You're part of the plan too." He laughed like nails on a chalkboard, and left the room. He didn't even bother to close the door behind him.

Intrigued, Wheeler followed. The next room was another cell, with stronger barricades on the next door, and a large television screen, clearly brought there just for this occasion.

* * *

 **BREAKING NEWS:**

"Japan is now the latest to close its stock market. Experts say it may not reopen for weeks. China is expected to follow. In response, the United States has placed an immediate freeze on all prices and wages, but it's not expected to make any difference. Mass Walkouts have been reported across most of the western hemisphere. For more on this, we go to our State Department Commentator, Dave Brin. Dave?"

"Yes, Dan. The current estimate from the OEOB is that six out of ten workers in the United States will be unemployed by close of business tomorrow. We're getting reports that more than half the Fortune 500 Executives have jumped out a window this week. Everyone below the Executive Level is now running."

"Running, and apparently taking everything they can grab on their way out."

"That's right. In fact, in several sections of the east coast, a state of near-Anarchy now exists. We're getting reports that looting has broken out in supermarkets. Police and National Guard units have been deployed to protect gun stores and military supplies."

"The news is not all bad, however. Within ten minutes of Japan's announcement, the Corporation has declared that it will settle the debts and deficits created by the sudden Financial Meltdown."

"That's right, Dan. This, effectively, makes The Corporation owner of most agricultural, economic, and militar-"

"Dave, I'm going to have to stop you there. We're getting reports now that military forces have been deployed to several sections of the States, the Far East, and Europe. We're not sure why, yet; but we know that ours is not the only military currently deploying troops to hot zones."

* * *

Wheeler watched the screen intently. "That's the goal? Your Gauntlet smashes the planet, and you buy the pieces, dirt cheap?"

Stumm laughed. "You think I want to own the world? I already had that, in every practical sense. This is something far bigger."

Wheeler bit his lip. "Zarm doesn't care who owns the world, since he predates it. And if he doesn't care, neither do you."

* * *

 **He is Malevolence. There was a time I thought he was there to Balance me. All things in my Domain are at their best when Balanced. I thought perhaps that principle extended to everything.**

"You only would have thought that if he was the exact opposite of you." Gi put in.

 **He is. And for longer than humans have existed, I have been trying to fight him back. Over and over. We're pretty evenly matched.**

"How is that possible?" Linka demanded.

 **Because I grow from life. And he feeds on destruction. Even defeat gives him something. And then, something happened that gave him his chance.** Gaia told them. **Something of interest enough to Zarm that he took a far more active role than he ever has.**

"What?" Linka asked. "What happened?"

* * *

"The Corporation happened." Stumm told Wheeler. "We bought up everything. Every food harvest, every energy production, every manufacturing line, every real estate firm. All of it came to one place."

"And as long as it was all in one place, it was possible to take it all in one bite." Wheeler finished.

"Is it so hard to believe? I gave you my original CEO, and took over. Devorux gave you the Reclaimer, hoping to take it back. Is it so hard to imagine someone better than all of us together might see the value?"

"So there's a new CEO that nobody but you knows about." Wheeler filed that away. "But he's not interested in money, or social status. What's he after?"

"The Corporation has it all, Wheeler." Stumm said easily. "That's not hyperbole. After this week, we own almost everything left. All the food, all the fuel, all the water. We own it all. What we didn't buy up or take over, our carefully created riots have destroyed. When the time is right, My Gauntlet will poison every water source, destroy every last storeroom of food, burn all the seeds, drown every farm, sink every fishing fleet, scorch every-"

"Why?" Wheeler asked in horror.

"Your Planeteers will fight them, of course, and the collateral damage will swallow the world, one bite at a time, until the rest of the 'little people' take up arms and blow whole countries off the map to stop your rampage, with weapons and equipment, thoughtfully provided by-"

"Subsidiaries of The Corporation." Wheeler finished the sentence. "You're starting a war."

"Since they'll need our forces to strike against hitters as heavy as your guys, we'll know when it comes to that. And that's when we show your team that you're alive. A hostage they can't let die… Especially since I made sure to give them back your Ring."

Wheeler froze. "So the first thing they'll do is come running here to rescue me."

"And they'll find Team Gauntlet waiting." Stumm grinned. "It will be one hell of a fight, and it will swallow the world."

"So the showdown happens and… what?" Wheeler asked.

"You were there when Hope Island was made. When the ocean boiled away, and the earth shook and the sky broke apart. By the time I'm done…"

Wheeler realized. "That's what this is. That's why I'm alive. You want to combine the Ring Power."

"And the world, punch-drunk, boiling with chaos, desperate to do the only thing that it knows how to do, will meet this all-powerful Planet-Force with the ultimate Warbringers, and life and death will collapse on each other."

* * *

 **The Planet-Force is… me. My full strength, given form in a single place.** Gaia said sadly. **I always knew your Rings would be strongest when combined, but I never expected just how much of myself you would summon.**

"So if Zarm found a way to kill the Planet-Force…"

 **What's left afterward… won't be enough for even me to consider it actually being alive.**

* * *

Wheeler stared at him in disbelief. "Why?" He croaked. "What's the motive? Guys like you don't get out of bed unless there's a billion dollars in it for you. What's the victory in wiping out the earth?"

"Who says I need an earth to declare my victory?" Stumm laughed. "Wheeler, people get power because it is given to them. Leaders get elected, or build factions. Generals get given promotions. Businessmen wheedle cash from everyone they can find, and Planeteers get picked by the Life Force of the Earth."

Wheeler pointed at Stumm's Ring. "Someone gave you yours."

Stumm laughed. "Someone who understands what power is… without other people."

"Who is he?" Wheeler demanded.

* * *

 **He is my opposite number.** Gaia told her Planeteers darkly. **He is the Anti-Life. And he is cunning. As you have learned from Quinn, his first move was to drive divisions and extremes between humans. Using the model I had set as a way to save the whole, he has now found a way to force a confrontation with you. The Shatterpoint is fast approaching. At that point… he will end all life, and me with it.**

"Why?" Ma-Ti asked promptly. "Why does he want this?"

 **For the same reason that I desire living things to spread and live eternally. Because it is the makeup of what I am. What he is, requires the end of life; in the same manner. Where life spreads, he is diminished. It has been this way since before Man walked.** Gaia told them. **Many years ago, Zarm and I battled. I lost.**

"Wait." Linka put a hand up. "Battled. Over… what?"

 **Over the earth, and its people.** Gaia said patiently. **Did you think humans were the first people to live in my domain?**

Those assembled were floored by that.

 **The battle raged for a time, between creation and destruction.** Gaia told them. **And destruction won. I saw the life fading away from this world. And I couldn't save it. I couldn't save any of them from Him. So I waited, and when the tide of destruction passed, I began again. And in time, He returned. He and I did battle… and I lost, again; tens of millions of your years ago. But this time I found a way, and fought him to a draw. I had thought that he had been driven away entirely, gone on to new hunting grounds for other living places.**

" _Are_ there other living places?" Gi asked, intrigued.

 **I do not know. My reach extends only to my own domain.** Gaia said simply. **But now he has returned. It's the first time I have given any part of my power to any of my children. He has followed the same path. I think it amuses him, to see my own gifts used to destroy me**.

"How did you survive, last time?" Gi asked. "Science tells us that many millions of years ago, there was a sudden explosion of life on earth. Some say it was God, some say it was an asteroid setting off evolution; but…" Gi's face went dark. "Oh."

Ma-Ti scowled with her. So did Linka. So did Kwame.

"What?" The Colonel asked, unnerved. "I've seen that look before. It's the same one Wheeler got whenever I asked him where this Island came from."

 **The final move in the last round of The Game. Not the first round we'd fought. Not the first time I'd fought him to a draw.**

* * *

"The Planet-Force. An act of Life so powerful that it could undo the apocalyptic power of anything Zarm could bring to bear." Stumm said, his tone blatantly hungry. "I can't even imagine what it must be like to have actually _summoned_ some tiny piece of that."

"It didn't feel so tiny." Wheeler said darkly.

"I'm sure." Stumm drawled. "The one thing Zarm couldn't overcome. A Creation Bomb. And Gaia could make as many as she needed." He grinned savagely. "That's why Zarm needs me."

* * *

 **And here we arrive at our problem.** Gaia explained. **Because now the rules have changed. The destructive power of the humans is now sufficient to end me completely, in a way that all living things in my previous incarnations were not.**

"Zarm's next step is humans?" Kwame was surprised. "If this has been going on for billions of years, what can humans offer?"

"The weapons." The Colonel said quickly. "She's talking about our Doomsday Arsenal."

 **Destructive Power enough to take on my own Creative Power. Zarm's Ultimate Victory, finally given a chance.** Gaia agreed. **The Gauntlet is Zarm's attempt to turn your world on itself. His warriors can tear the world apart, and if they can tear you apart as well, they won't stop, until the Human powers rise up against them, and then…**

"Nothing survives." Kwame finished for her. "Not even you."

Gaia nodded. **Never in our ancient game has that been a possibility, until now.**

* * *

"It's so perfect, isn't it?" Stumm laughed like a sick hyena. "When the time is right, I'll tell your people where to find you, alive and well. They will come for you, and my Gauntlet will be waiting. You'll turn loose your ultimate Planet-Force, because there's nothing else that can possibly match the war my people will raise against you. And then, with the whole Corporation to starve, bribe, threaten, and control… Humanity will unleash its full destructive power on the Planet-Force, and that's the end of Gaia, and you. What's left of the world will fight over the scraps… and the last living thing to die will be the roaches."

Wheeler set his jaw. "My cell is six feet by eight feet. If I put all my strength into it, I can break my neck against those stone walls, or at least bash my brains out."

Stumm tilted his head. "Would you?"

"To save the world, I would." Wheeler said instantly. "It's a question I've had the answer to since the first time I said the word 'Planeteer'."

"A creative buzzword, Wheeler. But hardly an accurate one. This isn't the first showdown Zarm and Gaia have had. You aren't the first 'Planeteers'. And if I lose, you won't be the last."

Wheeler struggled to make sense of all this. "If it came to that, why hasn't Zarm tried the Gauntlet trick before?"

* * *

 **The Gauntlets work in the same way as the Rings.** Gaia explained gently. **I have given a part of myself to each of you. Zarm has been required to do the same. You think the Gauntlets are more powerful, but they aren't. They're more destructive, just as their maker is. Matali's Gauntlet can create a stronger earthquake, but Kwame has planted whole forests with his Ring. Something that a Gauntlet is too destructive to do. Wheeler's fire can burn off the deadwood of a whole jungle, but Trish's Gauntlet could never leave the young and healthy trees behind to keep growing.**

Gi bit her lip. "If Zarm gave his Gauntlets a part of himself… then does that mean he's involved too?"

 **As much as I am. Moreso, with all the power he forced into it. If My Planet-Force can overcome his destruction, he will be diminished. Perhaps even slain. He will not get another chance.**

* * *

"Which is why we're not leaving it to chance." Stumm gloated. "If the plan doesn't work, then my Gauntlet will destroy everything they can reach. The Corporation will burn every warehouse full of food, raze every farm, crush every forest, burn every blade of grass, pull every trigger. And things will go on as they have."

"Meaning?"

"This is not the first time Zarm and Gaia have fought. If She summons her Creation Bomb again, then she starts over with the earth, and Gaia and Zarm play another game."

Wheeler felt a chill. "Without humans."

Stumm found the whole thing terribly amusing. "What? Did you think she actually cared about you personally?"

* * *

 **I do care. Just as I cared about the last people to walk the earth. just as I cared about Zarm's people, when he was a newborn babe. I couldn't save any of them. In those times, I could barely save myself and start again. This time, I may not have even that option.**

Long silence.

"Well, that was a hell of a bedtime story." Linka said. It was the first thing anyone had said in almost five minutes.

Gi let out a bark of laughter. "This is crazy. How is this our life? I mean, when we all met last year, the point that I had the most trouble with was the idea that Gaia existed, let alone that she knew my name. Now there's this guy Zarm, and…"

"Gaia, how do we finish the mission without Wheeler?" Linka asked.

 **Wheeler is alive.**

She had said it so easily that it almost didn't register.

Within an instant Wheeler's father was holding Lizzie Quinn by the lapels. "Start talking."

Quinn rolled her head to the side, looking away from the Planeteers, away from Gaia, tears rolling down her face pathetically. "...please, I'm sorry, I just..."

Linka came over, and very deliberately put her hands around Quinn's throat, squeezing a little bit harder than she needed to. "He said: Start. Talking."

Lizzie looked awkwardly over at the Planeteers. "Wheeler's alive."

Linka started squeezing harder automatically, before she got herself under control.

"Why would they leave him alive?" Kwame demanded.

"Does it matter?!" Linka grated.

"Yes, it does. They weren't wrong when they said removing one of us broke our strongest power. We know they aren't squeamish. What possible advantage is there in letting him live?"

"Because Zarm wants our strongest power, as long as he chooses when and where." Ma-Ti put in. "Gaia's ultimate defense against him is the Planet-Force. That's the one thing he could never defeat… until now. With all the forces of humans on one side, and the five of us to summon the Planet-Force on the other side… and his Gauntlet to force a showdown; he can finally win the larger game."

"The larger game. The one where Humans are just…" Kwame didn't feel the need to finish that sentence.

* * *

"You know why this 'Zarm' is offering power, independent of other people?" Wheeler snarled. "It's because all the other people involved will be _dead_."

"Exactly!" Stumm was ecstatic, dancing around like an imp. His eyes were glowing black. Black so deep that his gaze shouldn't burn, but it did. "Wheeler, when there's a war, how do you tell which side won? It's the one left standing. When there's a Prizefight, how do you know which Boxer won? You look and see who's on the mat." He grinned, and his teeth were so crooked and stained, that his dead gaze made him more like a shark than a human. "Life is what fills your cells. What fills mine will be anti-life! In a hundred trillion years, entropy and heat-death will swallow the universe, but I will still exist. Anywhere there's death, I'll feed, and become; long after you've gone to dust."

"You really believe that?" Wheeler asked. "Because what I see is something out of a Lovecraft Story screwing with the head of someone who used to be a dangerous risk to us."

"Used to be?" Stumm grinned. "Wheeler, if you kill one person; you're a killer. Ten men, you're a monster. A thousand, you're a king." His eyes flashed. "All of them, you're **God**!"

 _He's insane._ Wheeler realized.

* * *

"He's insane." Bligh breathed, watching the whole conversation between Wheeler and Stumm on her screens. Creating a micro-receiver that could work from Wheeler's cell, _and_ go unnoticed had cost her a year's pay, but it had just paid for herself.

"Or worse, he might be right." Mal put in. "So, what do we do, boss?"

Bligh didn't have an answer for him, staring at the screen, stricken. All her own plans for the future had just gone up in smoke. All of everyone's plans for the future had gone with them. "Mal…" She drew her gun and pointed it at him smoothly. "Are you armed?"

Mal put his hands up automatically. "No! What are you doing, boss?"

"Mal, I don't know how Stumm, or Zarm, or whoever it is got Gauntlet to turn on their own family, but if he can do it to them, he can do it you."

Mal sighed, and pushed away from the desk. "I've been your guy for almost eight years, Chief."

"Yes, you have." Bligh nodded. "Which is why I'll cry for a whole half a second once I blow your brains out. Don't make me be sad for a half-second, Mal."

Mal stood, slowly, keeping his hands visible. "What do you plan to do with me, then?"

"In the panic room." She said. "There's food and water in there. I can set the door to seal you in for a few days. By then, there won't be much you can do to stop me."

"Stop you from what?"

Bligh waved her gun. "Now, I can't tell you that, obviously."

But inwardly, it was because she had no idea.

* * *

"So, if we go and get Wheeler back, are we dooming the human race?" Gi asked in a small voice.

"If we don't get him back, we don't have a chance of stopping Gauntlet." Linka challenged.

"But if we do manage to get him back, assuming Gauntlet isn't there waiting for us, we've basically raised the stakes. Five of us together again means we might be able to summon the Endgame Zarm is working towards."

"So, basically; whatever we do here… Zarm and Stumm are going to run the table and eat the world." Kwame summed up.

Heavy silence.

"We should sleep on it." Linka said. "We've had a lot of information thrown at us today, and if Wheeler's alive for their plans, it means they'll keep him that way until tomorrow, at least." She gave a loud yawn. "I've been awake too long. Wheeler's alive. I might finally be able to sleep."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Linka was arriving at the Geo-Cruiser, with a pack over one shoulder, and a black cap to cover her hair. She'd crept out of her window, and avoided the firelight from the bonfire, sneaking down to the dock.

When she made it, she pulled back the canopy, to find the others already in their seats waiting for her.

"Sleep on it?" Kwame joshed her. "In the year we've known each other, you've never _once_ suggested getting some rest."

"We can't let you take the Geo-Cruiser alone, Linka." Gi said gently. "You're the engine. You go, we're all stranded."

"No you're not. The Colonel brought his own chopper." Linka pointed out. "I wouldn't strand you guys."

"Linka, you're not going alone." Kwame said firmly.

Dead silence.

"Guys, if we all go, then we give Zarm and Gauntlet what they want."

"If we stay, Zarm still has the advantage." Kwame said. "But it will take longer. I know you're not wild about the 'wait and see' approach, Linka… but when you don't have a good move, you play for time, wait for an opening."

"What about Wheeler?!" Linka demanded.

"If he was here, he'd tell you to wait for the moment when you can win."

"If he was here, he'd sneak out with me!" Linka countered.

A sudden knock on the canopy made them all jump. It was JJ. "Guys, if I can interrupt this _totally innocent, not at all suspicious_ conversation, you should probably see this."

* * *

 **BREAKING NEWS:**

"In the face of the current economic crisis, the Treasury has announced that there is going to be a bailout. For more on this story, our own Karen Gillys. Karen?"

"Thank you, Dan. I'm currently on Wall Street where trading has been suspended. They say the Market may never reopen. There's been a freeze on all wages and prices, internationally. Japan and Europe have suspended trading also, in response. But the news is not all bad. Just ten minutes ago, the head of the Treasury announced that all debts and losses created by the current economic crisis have found a backer. Put simply, the Stock Market is getting a Bailout, from The Corporation."

"There is precedent for a Bailout, but this is the first time a private company has done so, instead of a government."

"That's what sealed the deal, Dan. The National Debt can't take another bailout right now, possibly never again. Having it come from a commercial source was very attractive to the world's governments; given the sheer range of commodities and commercial interests that have lost everything in the Economic Crash."

"That has to bankrupt them."

"Not once they restart production. The upshot of the Bailout is that as of now, The Corporation has effectively taken over mortgage payments, deed of ownership, production lines, and transport/storage for more than seventy five percent of the world."

"Corporation CEO Vernan Stumm was not available for comment."

* * *

Stumm came into the Boardroom, walking like he was in a dream. His Board of Directors was assembled, looking shell shocked, angry, ready to kill someone. His tie was gone, the suit hanging off his shoulders.

"I'm not accustomed to being summoned by my inferiors." Stumm told them with a sulphuric voice. "Now why do y-"

"What the hell are you doing?!" Someone demanded.

Stumm's eyes flashed, not with anger, but straight up amusement. "Do any of you think you can comprehend the sheer _magnitude_ of what I'm doing?"

"Have you seen the news? The world is on the verge of total collapse. There are gunfights breaking out in every supermarket, ATM's are spitting out cash, and people are using hundred dollar bills as toilet paper! The world is ending out there; and you-"

"Have capitalized." Stumm put in. "Read those reports again. The world's industry, energy production, banking giants… all of them are begging for mercy, and we took them all, one bite at a time. Everything that we didn't take over in The Great Merger. The Corporation is the only company big enough to take a hit like the one the market has seen, and keep rolling. Nobody else can make it, and we sucked them all up."

"Which would be a financial victory unseen since The Corporation was founded." Someone else put in. "Except we've recently been given a different version of events. One that suggests that you aren't capitalizing on the chaos for the good of the Company, but rather, looking to destroy all the world's stores, now that you have access or ownership to them all."

Stumm barely reacted. "And who told you this?"

The nearest peon tapped a button on his tablet, and a recording of Stumm's voice started to play. _"If the plan doesn't work, then my Gauntlet will destroy everything they can reach. The Corporation will burn every warehouse full of food, raze every farm, crush every forest, burn every blade of grass, pull every trigger."_

The Board members were suddenly shouting over each other. "Tell me that isn't Wheeler Johnson on that tape." "You're keeping a global celebrity _prisoner_?" "And reported him _dead_?" "How long do you think you can keep that up?!"

"Long enough." Stumm said, unconcerned.

"To do what?! Burn everything?" Someone demanded. "It won't be hard for us to make a case that you're of unsound mind, Stumm. Look in the mirror. If you weren't upright, I'd think you were a corpse already. I don't know what you've got, or what you're on, but-"

Stumm laughed. It was a really ugly laugh. Ugly and dark enough that everyone in the room went silent.

"You guys don't even realize that I've been calling you 'some guy' and 'somebody else' in my head since I walked into the room. I can't even remember your names. I'm looking at you right now, and I can't tell one of you from the other." Stumm cracked. "What I'm 'on'? The reality of it couldn't _fit_ inside your brain." He looked them all over. "You're all so tiny. Mayflies. Barely registering on the scale. And you don't even care. The news has been pushing this stuff out for a week, and none of you cared, because the money kept rolling in. The one time you demand a meeting, concerned for the future? It's when someone tells you that there's a chance you might not get any _more_ money."

Silence.

"Thousands are killing each other, and the only thing that concerns you? How big is your cut, per head?" Stumm laughed. "You're all such pathetic parasites it's a wonder anyone bothered to tell you what was going on." His eyes blazed at the first of the nameless lackeys who had challenged him, with a truly inhuman shade of yellow. "And who told you? Who told you that you had to get me here? Who demanded that you rage at the wind? Because I know it wasn't me. I don't think enough of the people around this table to let you lick the $#!^ off my shoes."

The Board was unsettled, and angry. "I move that we remove Stumm as CEO, and release the Planeteer immediately. I also move that we begin legal action, release that tape, and make it clear that we intend to prevent him from doing whatever he's going to do. "Is there a second?"

"Oh, I'll second you." Stumm raised a hand himself, laughing.

"This isn't a joke, Stumm."

"Oh, yes it is. You actually think you can do something. You all bustled in here like angry bees, buzzing away. Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic." Stumm said. "I find that very amusing."

"Well, since you were kind enough to second the motion, let's put it to a vote. All in favor of kicking this lunatic to the (cough) to the curb, (cough) say (COUGH!) say Aye (COUGH COUGH!) What's happeni-"

The entire Board of Directors was coughing, unable to catch their breath. Stumm was standing at the head of the table, with that same placid smile on his face. The unhealthy glow in his eyes blazed a dark hellish red, and he laughed hysterically as the people around him started clutching at their throats, their faces, coughing, then screaming.

"By the way." Stumm said with a cackle like nails on a chalkboard. "I just wanted to thank you all for supporting my bid to become CEO last year. The unanimous vote made all the difference."

Within seconds, the entire Leadership of The Corporation, some of the wealthiest, most powerful people in the history of the world, were dead, still in their chairs. Stumm lifted his Black Ring a little higher, and the stone glimmered. The bodies began to sizzle and twist, the flesh rotting away until only blackened skeletons remained.

Stumm drew in a deep breath of the horrific decay like he was savoring a fine wine. The unhealthy pallor of his skin improved for a moment, buoyed by the stolen life force.

"Now then." He asked the assortment of skeletons. "The more interesting question is: Who told you about any of this? There was no recording devices in that cell. Unless someone placed one without my permission. In fact, while we're on the subject; you're meant to be all nice and compliant, like the rest of the world." He grinned at the bones. "Would anyone care to explain what's changed?!"

Obviously, no answer.

Stumm grinned savagely. "Bligh."

* * *

 **AN** : _In the week since the last chapter was released: Mexico has opened the largest solar farm in Latin America, powering 1.3 million homes._

 _Germany achieved a total energy surplus, thanks to renewable sources, albeit for a short time._

 _Tyson Foods, America's largest meat processor, has invested in Clean Meat research and Development._

 _The Renewable Energy Industry now employs ten million people globally. A new record._

 _And all this in the last seven days._

 _Read and Review!_


	7. Want To Burn

At a secluded spot, far from the eyes of the world, there was a long stretch of narrow road. It was a dirt road that had no identifying marks, and nobody had driven along it for months. But halfway between the two small towns it connected, there was a section of the road that was paved with concrete.

There was nobody around for hundreds of miles, so nobody noticed as a small private plane came in to land along the paved street. The plane immediately turned around, taxi-ing to face the concrete road, now a runway.

At the controls, Bligh carefully set the engines to silent mode. Something that only her planes had, giving the impression of the plane being shut down, while keeping it ready to spin up and fly at a moment's notice.

 _ **Well now, this is an interesting move.**_

Bligh jumped. "Who said that?!"

 _ **I'm surprised. And that hasn't happened in a million years.**_

"Identify yourself!" Bligh snapped, drawing her gun. She wasn't about to fire it in a sealed cabin, but she felt better for having it. "Where are you?!"

There was no answer.

* * *

Bligh dropped the stairs and was on her way out of the plane before the engines had stopped. "Alright, I know you saw me coming!"

Four members of Team Gauntlet slunk out of the dust and scrub. It was a neat effect, given that there was absolutely no cover of any kind. "What are you doing here, Bligh?" Matali demanded.

"There's been a development." Bligh called, striding over.

"We've heard nothing from Stumm." Cho commented, appearing behind her.

"He's busy. His minions have realized they aren't running the world anymore, so they're demanding answers."

"They won't like it when he gives them." Cho responded with a nasty smile.

"I agree, but it raises a few questions." Bligh told them. "I don't know if you're following the news, but it looks like the Planeteers have identified Quinn; and apparently neutralised her. Obviously, this changes the plan."

"How? It's not like they can do anything about the rest of us." Trish purred, close enough to run her fingers possessively across Bligh's neck.

The older woman fought not to shudder. She was a dangerous woman, but she was a spider among lions, and they all knew it. "You're right, but I can't reach Quinn. And the longer she's out of contact-"

"Have you tried?" Cho crooned, closing in on her left.

"I-I have." Bligh didn't let her expression waver. "We don't think she's dead, but if she's not answering, it's possible she talked."

"So what?" Matali pressed. They had her surrounded now.

"Well, I know there are redundancies, but I'm still in charge of security for all our… projects." Blight stepped forward, trying to be a little less surrounded. "Smart money says that if your plan can't be trusted, you must adjust it. The whole reason we have Wheeler here, is to choose the time and place. The bait doesn't work if they know about the trap."

"So you're here to… what?"

"To move the bait." Bligh told them. "We're setting a new trap in Las Vegas. We've improvised before."

"Then why are you nervous, Bligh?" Matali asked.

"I like to work my plans from start to finish." Bligh said. "So, you guys are to fall back to the secondary plan, and wait for me to find Quinn. If she's still with us, you'll know it soon." She tilted her head a little. "I'm a little surprised you guys don't know already, one way or another."

"We aren't the Planeteers." Cho scorned. "We don't need a big group hug with our powers."

Trish looked carefully at Bligh. "If Lizzie were here, we'd know if you were lying."

"Quinn is compromised. Hence the change in strategy." Bligh said cooly. "Now move it."

"You don't need us?" Matali almost purred.

"He doesn't have powers. He's chum in a shark tank without his powers." Bligh said coolly and pushed past him. "Believe me, I know. I've mangled him once before."

"Well, as it happens, we don't care. Go ahead, take him." Matali said plainly. "See, if you cross us; then we'll find you, and you know it. The world isn't big enough to hide from us."

"And it'll be a lot smaller if we have to tear it up looking for you." Trish giggled.

Matali gestured, and about twenty feet away, the ground rolled back, like someone was pulling aside a thick carpet. Below was a steel and concrete cube, with a single pipe pointing upwards. With the ground pulled away from it, it was easy to see that the pipe was for air. It would have just passed the surface.

Bligh turned, and found that Gauntlet was already gone. They had vanished, but she knew they had to be close by. If they decided to bury the cell again, nobody would ever find her bones.

* * *

She felt it when she reached the cell door. It opened outward. No lock, of course. The cell's power was Matali. He could put thirty feet of rock and dirt in place to hold the cell closed. She felt it pressing on her, like there were a thousand eyes drilling into her head, from the inside. Her hands shook when she reached for the door. Her hand didn't want to open the door. Her hand was stopping her from reaching.

Hardening, Bligh forced herself a little harder, getting angry at her hand. It finally reached the doorknob.

The door opened, and Wheeler flew through it at a charge, fist first.

Bligh moved, quick as a mousetrap, and put him in a chokehold. "Idiot! Do you want out or not?!" She hissed in his ear, doing her best to look like she was taunting him.

Wheeler froze. "Bligh?" He couldn't believe it.

Neither could she. "If I get you out of here, then you have to take me with you." Bligh hissed.

* * *

"Where are the guards?" Wheeler asked once they got to the plane. "Am I that unimpressive without my stylish one-of-a-kind fashion sense?"

"I got rid of them. What's the point of switching sides if you're going to make it harder on yourself?" Bligh reasoned as she spooled up the engines and got them moving. "Strap in. Not the cockpit."

"If you don't mind, I think I'll stick with you, rather than have my back to the rest of the cabin for a whole flight."

"If I had any desire to trap you, why would I get you out of the cell?"

"That's the TV answer." Wheeler returned. "Take it as a compliment, Bligh. You're smart enough to have that many layers in your plans."

"I did. Now the rules have changed, and all my plans are a big steaming load of crap." Bligh told him, and pushed the engines to full power for takeoff.

She felt it again then. A pressure building behind her eyes, drilling into her temples. She gripped the controls so hard her hands hurt. "Wheeler, I changed my mind. Get up here!"

She heard him unstrapping himself from the passenger seat, and he came up to the cockpit. "Strap in." She told him, nodding to the co-pilot's seat.

 _ **Bligh…**_ A voice said in her ear.

Bligh turned to look, spooked. Nobody there. She looked back to Wheeler. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" The Planeteer asked.

 _ **Bligh, what are you doing?** _The voice hissed in her ear. The voice was malevolent, ancient, purely evil. The evil didn't frighten Bligh at all. What frightened her was that he knew her name.

"I know who you are." She hissed back at him. "I was listening."

 _ **I know.**_ That Voice said with dark glee. _**You can't win. You've heard the plan. Whichever way this goes, I win. Stumm found out what I was offering. What do you want?**_

Bligh set her jaw. "Nobody tells me what to do." She growled, even as she felt her hands start to shake, moving against her will. "Wheeler. Take my gun." Bligh grit her teeth, hands on the controls so tight that her fingernails were bleeding. "If I try to turn this plane around, I need you to knock me out."

"Okay." Wheeler said, not even blinking. "One question: Why?"

"You know what's been going on in the world? I know Stumm came by to gloat at least once." Bligh told him. "I'm not letting Zarm do that to me. I am NOT one of those braindead sheep."

"No, I mean… Why switch teams at all?"

Bligh scowled harder at the horizon line. "Wheeler, I know you don't think much of me. Or any of us, I suppose. But we don't go into this because we like destruction. Guys at the low level are desperate to feed their families and just want to work. At my level, we do it because we have our own agenda. We do it for the power. We do it for the profit." She glanced over her shoulder, but there still wasn't a monster there at her ear. "Let's say I finally found my price."

"No profit in destroying the whole world?" Wheeler guessed. "Because, if you don't mind me pushing my luck, you've been destroying the world for a long time. You, personally, for a few years. The people you work for a few years longer than that, and people who think like you for almost a century. Did any of you plan what to do when there was nothing left of the earth?"

"Well, you're not wrong." Bligh admitted darkly. "Wheeler, you know what the wealthy types actually call people like you? Well, the ones without superpowers, anyway?"

"Consumers." Wheeler answered without hesitation, though the disdain was clear.

"Right. We never think of it as hurting people. We never think of people at all, only consumers and providers. Consumption equals profit. But I do happen to live on this planet, Wheeler."

"Try again. If you're lucky you'll say something true enough to make up for what you just said." Wheeler didn't blink.

"Is the fact that I'm saving your life not clear to you?"

"I'm not an idiot, Bligh. You're doing this because you were spying on your boss and discovered the plan was for you to be 'consumed' yourself." Wheeler said without blinking.

"There are worse reasons."

"Doesn't make you one of the good guys." He shot back.

"I never cared if I was good or not. Good and Evil aren't words that matter to people like me. What do you want me to say? That I've been playing for the wrong team? Fine. I admit that. There are downsides to taking the world, chewing it up, and selling the bones. Yes, I know that!" She fired right back at him. "But I will NOT be one of those Drones."

Wheeler said nothing to that for a while. "Where are we going?"

"Hope Island." She told him. "I figured if I brought you with me, I'd be less likely to get hit by a tornado the second I landed."

"Don't be so sure. If I know Linka, she'll be looking to strangle something by now."

* * *

"I am so very ready to strangle you right now." Linka snapped, yet again.

"I know." Quinn nodded weakly. "I'm sorry, Linka. I'm real sorry."

"Tell me about the cage they have Wheeler in."

"I've told you-"

"Then tell me again!"

"It's out in the middle of nowhere. There's nothing there but a feulling station. They don't want people around in case Ma-Ti could do something."

"Since when do they care about collateral damage?"

"They don't. But they know you do, so they keep people away to keep you on target. They gave you his Ring back, right?"

Linka didn't answer that, but the Ring in question was on a chain around her neck, under her shirt. JJ had given it back to her when they'd found out he was alive.

"The cell is a concrete cube, underground. There's bedrock all around, there's no running water; there's nothing that can burn, and no people Ma-Ti can turn into a militia. The whole point was to force the five of you to show up and have only one move."

"Combining all five Rings." Linka nodded.

"You weren't meant to know he was alive yet. The other Gauntlet members are camped out around the cage, waiting for you." Lizzie said. "They know you can't beat them."

"All four of them, together?" Linka countered.

"Your plan is to hammer them one by one, eliminate them with Four to One odds. You won't do it." Lizzie promised. "They can't do anything without Stumm's order anymore."

"Even without you?"

"Does Ma-Ti ever use his talent to force you?" Lizzie asked. "Or does your Ring protect you from his influence?"

"So did you have them hypnotized, or not?"

"The second they put those Gauntlets on, they were volunteers that couldn't change their minds." Quinn covered her eyes. "Which makes what I did worse."

Linka was silent a moment. "I'm not the forgiving one on this island, Lizzie."

There was a droning sound that made them both look up. "Engines?" Quinn said. "A jet?"

"The passenger jets fly too high, and… as far as I know, nothing's been flying in days." Linka was already up and running. "I'm the air defence. I have to go."

* * *

Linka came running towards the other huts. The other Planeteers were already there, running with her. "Where is it!?" Linka called.

"I saw it circle!" Kwame called back. "It's landing!"

Gi was already scanning. "You know, we get more visitors on this island than we ever did when we were on the mainland."

Kwame led the way. "It's not a fighter jet. No weapons that I could see."

Linka relaxed about half an inch. "If it's Gauntlet, coming after Quinn; they're better armed than we are."

Ma-Ti smiled serenely. "It's not Gauntlet. It's Bligh."

"Bligh?!" Linka snarled, and ran for the dock, Ring glowing. "Finally! Someone to toss into the goddam stratosphere!"

Linka took off faster than anyone could hope to give chase. "We better get down there before Linka kills her." Kwame sighed.

"If it's Bligh, we could give her a minute or two." Gi quipped, only half joking. "Ma-Ti, why are you smiling?"

* * *

The plane had already landed by the time Linka reached the coast. She knew she should wait for the others, but didn't care. She'd wanted to hurt someone for days, and she didn't particularly mind who it would be. The plane could apparently handle a water landing, and the stairs were already down. Linka came running down the dock… and skidded to a halt when she recognized who stepped out. He arms fell slack along her sides. "Wheeler!"

The redhaired young man blinked up at the island like he was trying to memorize it, and then beamed at Linka. "Did you miss me?"

Bligh came over beside him, and held out her empty hands, showing she was unarmed. "I surrender." She said promptly to Linka. "I need to tell y-"

Wheeler didn't even look at Bligh as he promptly pushed her off the side of the dock, sending her crashing into the ocean.

Linka took two steps toward him, and her expression changed. "Well, it took you long enough." She said, as though annoyed. "I was starting to think I would have to come rescue you myself."

"Well, it took me a while to realize you weren't coming." Wheeler retorted. "Shame on me for expecting you to hurry yourself over little ol' me."

"Hurry? First time in a year I've been able to go a day without picking up after you." Linka scorned. "I figured you'd be along a lot faster, so I decided to enjoy the quiet."

"I figured you wanted a chance to play the big hero, and look awesome doing it." Wheeler retorted. "You had no hope of that as long as I was around, so what else could I do?"

By this point, the other Planeteers had joined them. Gi pushed past Linka and hugged Wheeler tightly. "You're back!"

Wheeler hugged her back. "See? Now this is how you welcome back the conquering hero." He looked over Gi to see Kwame and Ma-Ti fishing a spluttering Bligh out of the water. "So, what else did I miss?"

"JJ and your father are here." Gi reported. "They're at the Comms Tent."

"Ah! My next stop." Wheeler started moving quickly, when he looked down and found Linka was holding his hand tightly, walking with him.

Gi started to keep pace, when she also noticed Linka's proximity, and did a fast fade. Smiling broadly, she turned back to Kwame and Ma-Ti, hauling Bligh out of the water. "Y'know, I could get her out of the water a lot faster."

"Could drown me a lot faster too." Bligh coughed. "Oh wait, you tried that."

Gi gave her a tight smile. "Not that it's not wonderful to see you, Bligh. And it isn't. But why are you here?"

Bligh wiped the water out of her eyes, and looked at the Planeteers. "To be honest… I don't know."

"Don't know, or don't want to admit it to us?" Ma-Ti countered, seeming to look through her.

Bligh tried to give Ma-Ti her usual glower, but broke off after a few seconds. Ma-Ti was not the sort of person who could be stared down easily. Finally, she confessed. "Two or three years ago, I gamed out a scenario." She told Kwame. "The Corporation isn't above causing chaos and destruction for the purposes of capitalising. You make something worthless, buy it cheap, increase the value, and sell at a profit. Sometimes these highs and lows occur naturally, sometimes they need a little help." She sighed hard. "The scenario I came up with, was what would happen in the event of a major, sustained crisis. Fact was, the world wasn't up for that. The entire trade-and-supply system of the world depends on everything getting where it needs to be, just in time. But nothing's getting anywhere on time now, thanks to…"

"Thanks to a scenario you gamed out, to envision how The Corporation could take advantage of just such an emergency." Kwame finished.

"World control was one thing. But the plan is…"

"Extermination." Ma-Ti nodded. "So we've learned." He looked to Gi and Kwame, who were still watching Wheeler walk away. "Go. I'll keep an eye on Bligh."

* * *

"Wheeler! Wheeler!" Ruby shrieked when she saw him, running up and practically jumping on him. "You're okay!"

"Of course I am." Wheeler laughed. "I'm indestructible."

"Good to know." Alana said, striding up with a wide smile. "Linka's been a total bear while you were dead."

"I'd zing her with that, but she's got a good grip on my hand right now. I use that hand for things." Wheeler chuckled, and gave Ruby a kiss on the cheek. Now. Where's my brother? I have to make sure he hasn't sold my stuff."

* * *

While Wheeler had his tearful reunions, Ma-Ti was marching Bligh deeper into the island jungle. They didn't say much on the walk, but she was looking at everything, eyes constantly moving.

"Do you believe in evil, Ma-Ti?" Bligh asked quietly after a while.

"Yes." The boy said simply.

"So do I." Bligh admitted. "And… I was evil. I still am, I suppose. When I was a girl, the Preacher said that The Devil defied the laws of the Lord, and that's what brought Evil into the world. Defiance of Good." She rolled her head around on her neck. "I'm evil. I don't care. Nobody tells me what to do. Defiance was the only thing keeping me on my feet all the way here."

"But God isn't what concerns you today." Ma-Ti commented. "You came here to fight the Other Guy."

"I have no interest in fighting him." Bligh said. "But I'm not about to be one of his drones. This seemed like the only place to go. And I was right. It took all my strength to get here. And the spell lifted the instant I touched solid ground. As soon as I find an angle, I'll take him apart just for trying his voodoo on me."

"You will fail." Ma-Ti said simply.

Bligh grit her teeth. "I know. That's why I came here. You have some juju of your own. Any ideas?"

Ma-Ti smiled. "One idea. But… It's not up to me to decide. Not the others, either."

"Then who?" Bligh demanded.

Ma-Ti stopped walking so suddenly that she had to stop and turn around. He had lead her all the way to the mountainside. There was a cave entrance in the rock wall. Ma-Ti gestured for her to enter, and sat down on the ground, outside the cave, as she went inside.

* * *

 **Hello, Barbara.** A voice said gently from the pool of water in the centre of the cave.

Bligh set her jaw. "You're the second spooky ethereal voice to come at me in the last day, lady. I'm not impressed."

The pool of water suddenly started to glow. Bligh came over to look, and saw an image. It was a cocoon, hanging on a tree branch. Bligh watched as the cocoon started to break open. A small child's hand came over, reaching for the butterfly that was struggling it's way out.

Bligh gasped, despite herself. She remembered this.

The child had almost reached the insect, when a much larger hand came and stopped her. A hand that Bligh recognized. "Father." Bligh whispered.

 _"Butterfly wings are delicate, Barb."_ Her father's voice came to her. _"I know you want to help it free, but even a little help will cripple it for life."_

Bligh stared into the Crystal Pool. It wasn't like her memory anymore. She could see into the cocoon, see the little insect fighting to survive. She could see the membranes of it's wings drying out, stretching in the sun for the first time…

And finally, the images faded, and Bligh was left gasping.

* * *

JJ had tried for cool. He really did. "I knew you'd be back." He said, though it was clear he didn't mean it.

"I'm surprised you even noticed I was gone." Wheeler quipped back, though it was clear he didn't mean it either.

Linka released his hand, and slid her fingers up his arm to rest on his shoulder. hands free, Wheeler and JJ embraced. Linka knew she should leave them alone, but couldn't make herself step away.

 _I told Grandmother that we mourn by retreating further into ourselves._ She thought to herself. _JJ and Wheeler are making more desperate jokes, even now._

* * *

Bligh came out of the cave, and stumbled a bit. "I'm… I'm hungry." She whispered.

"Not surprising." Ma-Ti said calmly as he stood up from his post beside the cave entrance. "You were in there for over six hours."

"Six hours!?" Bligh repeated in shock, and looked to the sky. Sure enough, the sun was going down.

* * *

Bligh had missed the Reunion. Six hours of food, drink, laughter, and war stories. When Bligh came to join them over on the beach, at their usual bonfire, they had gotten to work catching each other up.

"So you were kept alive just so that they could force a fight?" JJ said in disbelief.

"They chose the time and place. They wanted a showdown." Wheeler nodded. Wheeler had not heard Gaia's testimony, and the rest of the Planeteers had not heard Stumm's monologue.

Linka had a deathgrip on Wheeler's left hand the entire time, and had taken her eyes off him only to send withering glares at Bligh now and then. Everyone else, including JJ and The Colonel, were all gathered around the table. Bligh was at the far end, with a quivering Lizzie Quinn cowering beside her, leaning as far from Bligh as she could get.

"Why not just have the showdown at Hoover Dam?" JJ asked his brother.

"Because they chose the time, and that wasn't it." Bligh said. "They wanted the world to go to pieces first. Zarm, whatever he is, is trying to tip off an apocalyptic war. Humans versus Whatever it is the Planeteers have got. Gauntlet is the trigger, the global chaos is to ratchet up the stakes…"

"So Bligh here decided to get me out before it got to that point." Wheeler gestured.

"I was hoping you guys could find a third alternative, given that avoiding the fight, _and_ having the fight will both lead to the end of the world." Bligh put in. "But then I found out the real scope of Stumm's plan. Forcing a battle at Hoover Dam? It gave them the chance to take one of you alive. Without your combined powers, you were no match for Gauntlet, so you were neutralized until they told you Wheeler was alive. The Gauntlet's other strikes, their mind control… All of it was to put them in a position to send the world into total collapse, and make sure The Corporation was the very last thing to fall… And then I found out it was purely for the opportunity to destroy everything in the world."

Heavy silence.

"We don't have a third option, do we?" Linka asked finally. "It's too far gone."

Kwame spoke. " _If_ we can neutralize the Gauntlet…" He trailed off. Even that was a long shot.

"We got the Gauntlet off Quinn." Gi said softly. "She's back to normal, now…" Gi trailed off too. Lizzie was a twitching, borderline suicidal mess. Getting the other members of Gauntlet free was an even longer shot.

"Look, we've been playing catch-up for a while now." Kwame said finally. "With Lizzie freed, and Wheeler returned to us, we've all be able to put things in perspective, figure out the puzzle. It took us a week to realize the scope of what we were facing. We shouldn't expect to have a solution in thirty seconds."

This much was true. Everyone looked at each other, letting the stresses fade a little, absorbing the fact that they were all together again, safe on Hope Island.

"So, let's get some sleep; be thankful that we're back in the game, come out swinging tomorrow." Kwame summed up.

It had been an emotional day, and everyone was glad for that.

* * *

Linka and Wheeler hadn't left each other's side since he'd arrived at the Island. It took the others no time at all to realize it. Ma-Ti excused himself soon after, promising to keep an eye on Bligh. Kwame and Gi had their own matters to sort out and made their own good-nights soon after. Ruby was staring up at Wheeler like a puppy, pleased to see he was alive and well, and Alana pulled the young girl down to the beach as Wheeler and Linka went back to the settlement.

"Heck of a day." Wheeler said finally, and he suddenly realized he was alone with her.

She didn't answer, and Wheeler was about to make a joke, when he saw how she was staring into him with dark, deep eyes, and suddenly lost the ability to speak. Neither of them were interested in saying much.

Without a word, they both closed the distance in the same millisecond. The kiss wasn't even a little bit explosive. It was nothing like any other they'd shared. This was soft, passionate, and full of emotion. This wasn't any kind of showdown; it was outright surrender.

They parted soon after, and stood there for a long moment, foreheads touching, halfway between her hut and his.

"I thought you were dead." She said finally.

Wheeler hugged her tightly. She hugged him back, hard enough to hurt.

"I'm okay." He promised in her ear.

"I know." She said quietly. "All those jokes Gi made about how what kept us together was our need to have the last word? Suddenly you were dead, and having the last word was just _not_ worth it."

"I know." He promised. "I hate to think what you guys were going through back here. If they'd taken you and not me, I would have lost my mind."

Linka broke the hug and pulled the chain from around her neck. His Ring was on the end of it, and she carefully pulled his hand up to her lips, kissing his knuckles a bit as she slid it back on his finger. She felt her heart speed up at the blatant need in his gaze as he watched her do it, keeping his hand close to her lips.

 _That need in his eyes is because of you._ Linka told herself.

"The last time we were alone together…" Wheeler said, slow and thick.

"Who the hell says we missed our chance?" Linka said immediately. "Who says the moment went by? Isn't that up to us?" She took a breath. "Now you."

Wheeler smiled and took his turn. "The mistake was when you said 'just see what happens'. This is _us_ we're talking about. If either of us start this with one foot out the door, we'll never make it. We're either all in, or we're not."

"Story of our lives." Linka agreed, and she cupped his face with her free hand. "When you were gone, I really wanted to talk to you about it. The thing that made me care about you is also the same thing that frustrated me: You care more than you think. I'm not like that. But I wanted to be. You were dead and I wanted it to hurt right down to my bones; but I couldn't make myself _feel_ it..."

He reached up and covered her hands with his. "I'm here now." He said, voice raw. "Do you still want to feel something that deep?"

"I wanna _burn_." She almost growled, and closed the six inches between them in a rush. The explosion was there this time, fierce and breathtaking. There was a sudden burst of wind, a quick wave of heat...

Linka pulled back first, but just enough to speak, and despite herself, she felt tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "Wheeler, I know you want to 'do this right', but when I thought you were dead, my only regret wasn't that we were never together. It was that we weren't even honest about wanting to. Or why."

"Let's go inside, Linka." Wheeler said in a voice that could turn ice to steam.

"Yeah, right away; I would think." Linka kissed him again, quickly this time, promising more to come quickly, as they turned to go, hand in hand…

...and they both started to walk in opposite directions, her towards her house, him towards his. Hands still linked, they both realized as their arms grew taut between them.

"Mine's closer." Linka gestured.

"Mine's got a bigger bed." Wheeler gestured too.

Fragile beat.

Linka suddenly did the most unexpected thing yet. She burst out giggling. " _Bozhe Moi,_ Yankee. Flip a coin, before Alana and Ruby come back and start watching out their windows."

Wheeler found himself on the verge of laughter too. "Linka, be honest. Do you think we've got a chance in hell of this actually working?"

"Hard to say, but I think we knew that. Besides, given what we plan to do tomorrow, I don't think Long Term is our top priority right now." Linka got herself under control, before walking past him and leading the way to his hut. "Come on. It doesn't matter where we go first. Odds are we'll get to every flat surface on the island at some point.."

"Behind you every step of the way, babe." Wheeler said, but his voice made Linka shudder pleasantly.

"Eyes a little higher, Yankee." Linka told him, and she barely recognized her own voice as she walked, pulling her shirt up over her head, inch by inch, as she reached his door. Even from behind, the sight had Wheeler nearly hypnotized as he followed.

* * *

JJ came out of the Communications Tent with a printout in one hand, and a big smile on his face. The rest of the Planeteers were settled on the Beach, watching the horizon silently.

Bligh was with them too, though sitting a few feet away. Other than confirming Wheeler's story, she hadn't said a word since Ma-Ti took her to the Crystal Cave. She just kept staring out at the ocean. The others didn't try to talk to her. They'd all had such moments with their host.

"Check this out." JJ laughed. "Wheeler's Obituary. Someone actually ran it, even with whatever Voodoo Zarm was doing." He looked around. "Where _is_ Wheeler?"

"I think, back at his cabin."

JJ turned to go. "I'll show him. I bet he'd get a kick outta this."

"It can wait till morning, JJ." Ma-Ti told him, not looking away from the ocean.

Kwame and Gi both swiveled their heads to look at Ma-Ti in surprise.

JJ didn't get it. "Oh, there's no way he's sleeping. He'd get a big laugh out of-"

"It can wait till morning, JJ." Gi and Kwame chorused with Ma-Ti. Even Bligh smirked.

JJ finally got the point. "Oh! Right."

* * *

Stumm didn't sleep. Not anymore. He was beyond such things. He hadn't felt hunger or thirst in months.

"Quinn failed." He said quietly to the empty office.

 ** _Regrettable._** An ancient voice answered. That voice was all he needed now. _**But hardly important. Things are in motion and they won't stop now.**_

"What do we do about the Planeteers?"

 _ **We eliminate them.**_

"With all five reunited, and Quinn off the board, we may not be able to keep the Gauntlet on target."

 _ **We?**_

"You!" Stumm corrected quickly. "Always you."

 ** _Don't forget who it was that controlled Quinn, long before she ever got started._** Zarm told him. **_All your power, all Gauntlets' Power, is from me._**

"The Planeteers will know this, now. They'll know the plan."

 ** _Also irrelevant._** Zarm told him. **_The Planeteers are trapped by their service to Life. They cannot destroy you without starving the world. They cannot fight Gauntlet without setting off a war, and they cannot avoid the confrontation without letting our forces devastate the world. They cannot move but according to my design. And neither can you._**

"Yessir." Stumm promised.

 ** _Bligh has sent The Gauntlet to Las Vegas. She chose that point because it is already shut down. With Quinn's power broken, those in residence will attempt to leave. But they too can serve a purpose._**

* * *

 **BREAKING NEWS:**

"The UN made an official statement at last, concerning the effects of last week. The Statement is here in full:

" _It has been understood for a year that there are Powers that defy conventional wisdom, and conventional ability. We embraced those with these Powers, because they were determined to use those abilities for the common good. But for all they tried to tell us, they have never told us of the origins of their abilities, or how likely it is that there would be others who could do the same._

 _"The influence demonstrated on the people of the world over the last week is now obvious. After gathering intelligence from international sources, we know now that Gauntlet is not on anyone's side by their own. While we continue to prepare countermeasures to ensure it cannot happen again, the most important thing now is to minimise the damage left behind. Reports say that Gauntlet has lost their ability to influence the world's population. What other ability they might have is under active investigation; and if being the most serious of attention by the world's representatives._

 _"The increase in world tensions and violence has resulted in economic and social unsettledness, calling for responsible leadership in all forms. While we work diligently to cool heightened tensions, we ask for calm and patience among the military and political forces of the world."._

* * *

Colonel Johnson, watching this report on the news, felt his phone buzz, and he answered it. "Hello?"

"Colonel, this is Agent Petrov. We only met twice, I'm Linka's father. My sources tell me that you're at Hope island. Is that true?"

"It is. The kids are preparing their next move."

"Well, it better be something good. You saw the statement from the UN?"

"Just now. Political double talk doesn't usually sound so… panicked."

"These are proud men who have just discovered their own brains can be blackmailed without their knowledge. Too many people like us will bite back, for no other reason than to feel like they can do something."

"I agree." The Colonel said. "What made you call me?"

"My sources tell me that Command and Control was put in the field in various forward areas."

"Not just the forward ones. Tactical Forces are stationed domestically, too." The Colonel said quietly. "With everyone waking up from the same bad dream, nobody wants to be the first one to take their finger off the trigger, just in case."

"That 'just in case' is going to end the world." The Interpol agent warned.

"You have no idea." The Colonel glanced back at the Crystal Cave.

"So the reason I'm calling? Everyone's on this. Air Force, Navy… Nobody knows where the counter-attack is going to be, but everyone knows there'll be one. The political position is that it's better to make a bigger mess than look like you're doing nothing. My sources inside the State Department, or at least the ones that will still talk to me? They say that they've given someone the job of organizing a counter-offensive. They've given him the authority to direct military strikes against targets."

"Without clearing it with the Joint Chiefs?" Johnson was surprised. "How do I not know about this?"

"It's chaos in Washington. Worse in Downing Street, Beijing… Nobody's quite sure that the 'mind powers' have stopped, so nobody wants to speak up. If you push for an offensive, you're going to get hammered for being a drone under Gauntlet control, if you call for peace, they can say the same thing." Petrov reported. "You heard the reports about Command Control being put in the field? It's true. The Politicians have handed over the authority to start a war… With a little push, from The Corporation."

The Colonel left the Communications Tent, heading down the beach towards the others, taking the phone with him. "I hear that The Corporation is buying up all the deficits, and taking over the supply lines."

"That's what we're hearing too. Word is, all week, there have been mobs burning out gas stations, mobbing tankers… And nobody trying to so much as hold them back."

"They were wiping out civilization and throwing a party."

"Well, how else was it going to happen?" Petrov asked darkly. "This is why I'm calling: I'm hearing rumors that if Gauntlet, _and_ the Planeteers start another fight with each other, then-"

"Then they'll launch." Johnson finished. "Wipe out both groups at the same time."

"The idea is that there are only two groups that can put that kind of control on people, and they can also toss a tornado around, so why not take them both out?"

"Agent Petrov, I have some bad news for you." The Colonel said seriously. "I've just learned that Gauntlet's Agenda is to force just such a confrontation, with the direct purpose of tipping off a full strike on the Planeteers, and the source of their powers. You were there when they told us all about Gaia-"

"I was. But I didn't believe it."

"It's true. I'm on Hope Island and I just… I _met_ her, Stephan."

Dead silence from the other end of the phone. "So this is it, then." Petrov said finally. "We're actually talking about the end of all life on earth, here."

"There's nothing we can do about Gauntlet. We have to make sure the kids can do their jobs."

"Agreed. I'll find out where their 'Tsar' is, and how to get there before the shooting starts. But I'm Interpol, not military."

"Find the location. I'll meet you there." By now, Johnson had reached the rest of the island population. "Where's Wheeler?" He said as he disconnected. "I have news, and you should all hear it."

" _It can wait till morning!_ " All of them said without looking at him, so direct, and in unison that The Colonel jumped back, startled.

* * *

 **AN** : _Since the last chapter came out:_

 _Costa Rica's new president has declared a nationwide ban on fossil fuels._

 _California has become the first US state to require solar panels on all new residential construction._

 _China now has nine times the solar jobs that the USA has._

 _Australia's first Utility Level Battery Station (Built in a hundred days by Tesla, and mentioned earlier in this fic) has saved Aussie Customers $35 Million in it's first four months of operation._

 _Poland's largest power group has dropped plans to build a nuclear reaction in favor of wind, since Wind Power is now so cheap._

 _And all this in the last week. Hope is far from gone._

 _Read and Review!_


	8. Let Our Powers Combine

**BREAKING NEWS:**

"We interrupt our regular coverage to bring you this Breaking Story. Gauntlet has been located. Repeat, the final Four members of Gauntlet have been found. We… are unable to get word from any of our local reporters. There is a communications blackout across much of the southern USA; but we don't know if that's a deliberate blind, or if communications has just dropped out completely, with all the walkouts from infrastructure and... Anyway, um… Some reports are coming in that we have not been able to confirm, stating that the military is deploying the largest gathering of troops and munitions on the continental US, since the Civil War. Including some of the tactical… the, uh..."

"Dan, you're on the air!"

"I know. I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore. Honey, if you're listening, get the kids together. We have to get out of the city."

* * *

Everyone on the island was assembled in the Communications Tent, except for Linka and Wheeler, who hadn't been seen in almost twenty hours.

"It worked." Quinn said painfully, sounding exhausted as she turned away from the screen, like she'd dragged the world on her back. "Bligh convinced them. Gauntlet is heading for Vegas."

"You sure they believed it?" Kwame asked. "Or is this another trap?"

"Doesn't matter. Stumm wants the showdown anyway." Quinn told him. "Whether they believed or not, they'll be there; and they'll never ask why; because He doesn't want them to."

"The news is not all good, however." Bligh said crisply. "Without Quinn's little Talent to ease the way, they've been spotted. The military is deploying to meet Gauntlet."

"Is there any chance we can just leave it to them?" Gi asked, not really meaning it.

"Well, you can." Bligh nodded with a smirk that could cut glass. "But that's exactly what I would do."

"Say no more." Gi snorted.

"The Corporation threw no small amount of firepower at us over the last year, and we beat them down." Kwame said. "And the whole point of Zarm's plan is to escalate a fight between Gauntlet, the military, and us. The second the Army gets physical, Zarm wins. We have to get there first."

Long silence.

"So. Go get them." JJ said.

"You go." Kwame countered.

"I'm young and impressionable. Who knows what I may walk into?"

"I'll go!" A voice chirped from behind them.

"No you won't, Ruby." Alana said immediately.

Gi chuckled. "I'll go. I'm not scared of walking in on anything."

"Plus, you're a little curious." Kwame gave her a look. "Don't be a snoop, Gi. The one thing that's most likely to torpedo a good thing between Linka and Wheeler is the rest of us making a fuss."

"I know." Gi held up both hands. "I'll be good."

* * *

Gi came up to Wheeler's Hut, and was about to knock when the door opened and Wheeler and Linka came out, neither of them having so much as a hair out of place. "Good morning, Gi." Wheeler said politely. "So, are we ready?"

Gi licked her lips, looked to Linka. "Ready?"

"For the next battle." Linka nodded, also very collected. "I take it you have some idea of where Gauntlet is now?"

Gi frowned. "Oh come on, what kind of fun is this?!" She demanded.

Wheeler put a hand to his heart, apparently offended. "Fun? Gi! We have a very important job to do. We musn't make light of this."

"Certainly not." Linka agreed profoundly, standing a respectful three steps away from Wheeler. "Now, come along. We should eat something, Yankee. A healthy breakfast is the best start to a busy day."

"I quite agree." Wheeler said, dripping with respectfulness.

"You've actually missed breakfast by some hours. I came here specifically to get all the depraved details, and you guys apparently spent the night reading Miss Manners." Gi complained.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, Gi." Linka said coolly, pushing past Gi.

Gi gave Wheeler a look. He was equally unreadable. Annoyed, and more than a little disappointed that they were 'all business', Gi let out a huff and went after Linka. She passed JJ as she went.

JJ walked up to his brother, took one look at him, and without a word, went over to Wheeler's Hut and pushed the front door open.

The interior of Wheeler's little home had been completely demolished. The furniture was in pieces, scattered all over the place, the shelves were all knocked over, if not torn from the walls completely; and there were light scorch marks on the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. Pretty much everything was letting off wisps of smoke. JJ raised a single eyebrow at Wheeler.

The elder brother glanced to make sure Linka was out of earshot and shrugged. "What can I say? Hard to get eco-friendly cleaning supplies out to Hope Island."

* * *

"So, things went well." Gi probed to Linka as they walked.

"In comparison to what?" Linka said coolly.

"Uh huh." Gi grinned like a Cheshire Cat, as though vindicated. She then carefully reached out a single finger, and tugged the edge of Linka's collar down by half an inch. She had teeth marks all over her collarbones. "So, what does the other guy look like?"

"You're having thoughts." Linka said, smothering a grin.

"Having _so many_ thoughts." Gi agreed. "I'd tell you what they are, but we'd lose the PG rating."

"Stop having thoughts, right now." Linka warned her, still smiling. "I'm not the type to kiss and tell."

"And Wheeler's not the type to hit a home run and shut up about it." Gi commented. "But it's that kind of day." She glanced back at the two brothers, still a fair way behind them. "Also, not to spoil your glow or anything, but there are still four or five ways the world will end today."

"Yeah. That's important." Linka nodded, still smiling serenely at nothing in particular.

* * *

"Gauntlet apparently doesn't have the same 'connection' that we have." Gi began, gesturing at Ma-Ti. "So either they don't know that Quinn's not under Zarm's power any more, or they simply don't care."

"Smart money's on the latter. My job was done once the world was psyched up enough to go to war." Lizzie put in. "But they're heading for Vegas, because they're expecting you there. Their original plan had them choosing the time and place, but the goal hasn't changed."

The three adults were all on one side of the table, with the Planeteers assembled on the other, looking at each other across their lunch.

"Alright, the threat is in three stages." Kwame began summing up. "And unfortunately, we can't fix all of them. Go around the table."

"First threat. Gauntlet itself." Lizzie began. "The powers they've got _will_ be devastating when used purely for destruction. I mean devastating enough to crack a continental plate. Enough to wipe out most of the world."

"Second threat. The military is ready to make a First Strike on them, US Soil or not." The Colonel took up the list. "But they're holding back until we can get there, exactly as Lizzie and Stumm maneuvered them to do. The goal is to goad you into combining your powers, so that the military will nuke the Planet-Force, and give Zarm his ultimate victory."

"Will the military do that?" Wheeler asked his father.

The Colonel nodded. "No question. They've been trying to figure out what could make Hope Island, and what would happen if the same thing was turned loose on land. The answers we came up with were worth less than a coin flip, but no small number of the Top Brass wanted to play it safe and just blow you all straight to Hades. With the world in this state, they'll get their way if they see your ramping up the fight that hard."

"Third Threat, Poisoning the wells." Bligh finished. "Stumm has maneuvered _everything_ during the last year, _and_ the recent world chaos, specifically to put his people in control of pretty much every resource vital to human life. Food, drinking water, medicines. If the battle doesn't go Zarm's way, he'll make sure every bit of it is destroyed, and the human race will eat _each other_ within a month, simply because there's nothing else."

"I still can't believe that." Gi put in. "Why would people destroy food and drinking water, and medicine?"

"They do it already, Gi. Years ago, I read about a city farm forming on an abandoned lot somewhere in Detroit; run by homeless people for food. The police said they didn't have a permit and salted the earth so that they could never grow again later. Food surplus gets thrown in the dumpsters already. If a stockpile is declared unprofitable, either because they can't find a buyer, or because they can't store it long term, it gets tossed."

"The problem is that all these Threats will happen at the same time." Kwame summed up. "But fortunately, we have the people who can help us. People who are uniquely placed to make a difference." He gestured at the rest of his team. "Threat One is our problem. We'll intercept the Gauntlet. Quinn and Bligh have convinced them to go to a place that's already in ruins; so we have a window to strike. As much as I'd like to promise that we won't be played into giving them what they want; the truth is that even with warning and preparation, we barely survived Lizzie at four to one odds. We can't take them… without using our Secret Weapon of Last Resort."

"Agent Petrov contacted me early this morning." The Colonel put in. "He's located the Forward Operating Command for the military forces deployed domestically. He's on his way there, and so am I."

"If you can keep them from firing everything they've got, then…" Wheeler shook his head. "It'll still be the biggest thing to hit the world since Hope Island. But hopefully it won't be the last thing the human race ever sees."

Bligh piped up. "Stumm knows this. He won't leave it to chance. According to what we heard him tell Wheeler, he'll be making sure that tensions escalate, instead of the other way around. With The Corporation owning so much of everything, he can effectively hold a General to Ransom. If he says fight, it'll be very hard for them to say no."

"Can you take him?" Kwame asked Bligh. "You know the stakes, you're still part of the Corporation hierarchy. I don't know what Stumm might have surrounding him, but we'll need everyone at Vegas. Can you get in alone?"

"I've been having words with your Holier-Than-Exxon Goddess for much of the night. I believe there might be a way." Bligh said. "But it's a question of time. I don't know how much Zarm cares about his people, but if he realizes what we're doing, he may Strike early. I don't know. How do you fight someone who's plan is to end everything?"

"It's still our best option." The Colonel said to Kwame. "You have to neutralize Gauntlet, Bligh will intercept Stumm before he can organize a First Strike on the battle, and in case she can't do it, I have to hold the military back. Command and Control has been put in the field thanks to Quinn. And with the world as it is, they haven't rescinded that order yet."

"We've neutralized their mind control." Linka put in. "But even without that, we'll have a lot of people who have woken up and found out the world is about to fall down. They may just pull the trigger for no reason, other than the fact that it's something they can do."

"So, today my job is to prevent a war. And your job is to win it." The Colonel said. "Good hunting."

Bligh raised a hand. "That last one? Poisoning the Wells? I don't know how that starts. Maybe Stumm has already given that order. In fact, it would make sense if he did so. What reason could he have for waiting?"

Kwame looked at Gi. Gi looked at Kwame. Wheeler looked at his father. The Colonel looked at Quinn. Quinn sank back into herself and sobbed. "I gave that order when the Market collapsed. I could do it without needing a phone." She confessed. "The stockpiles are already being destroyed. In a week, the whole world will be unable to find food. A week after that, it's every man for himself."

* * *

"Take me with you." JJ said seriously.

"Are you crazy?" His father returned. "Weren't you listening?"

"That's why I have to go. Wheeler and the others are going straight to Vegas for a showdown. But whatever Voodoo Quinn did, it's broken now. I've still got people in New York." JJ shrugged. "The Planeteers is Wheeler's people. The Foundation are my people. If this is the end of the world, I gotta see if I can find them."

"Find them, and do what?" His father asked. "If this is the end of the world, Hope Island is the safest place left. I'm not about to send both my sons away from the one safe place left."

"What about Polly?" JJ countered.

The Colonel didn't have an answer to that.

JJ shook his head. "You've all got your missions, dad. I can't stay here while my entire family is in play. I have to find my people. If I can get them back here..." He gestured at the helicopter. "You're heading that way anyhow. The Geo-Cruiser can make the whole flight in one hop. You'll have to land somewhere and refuel. Why not some place closer to New York?"

The Colonel stared at his youngest son for a moment, and finally shook his head. "No. I'm not heading there anyway. The FOB is in… why am I telling you this? You're not going, JJ. At least one of my kids is going to live through this if it kills me."

JJ was about to argue when they noticed Wheeler coming up to join them. JJ glanced back and forth before fading back quickly, letting them speak. Wheeler gestured at the Helicopter. "Gi's parents refuel you okay?"

"Enough to get me where I'm going." His father nodded. "How you got a refueling station on Hope Island, I'll never understand."

"Capture enough oil tankers, you gotta put them somewhere." Wheeler grinned.

"First of all, I didn't hear that. Second of all…" The Colonel turned to face his son. "It was just a day ago I thought you were dead."

Wheeler smiled a little. "I know."

"And I'm sending you off to war again."

"You're not sending me anywhere, dad. I'm sending you, remember?" Wheeler said. "But, I know what you mean."

His father hesitated. He could have said it. He didn't have to. _I've been listening to your people talk all day, about how you can't take them four to one, let alone all at once._

Wheeler answered him anyway. "We don't have to beat them. We just need to hold out long enough for you and Bligh to get in the room. You're even leaving before us, for exactly that reason."

"I know." His father said. "I've only ever sent _other_ men's sons off to war, James."

Wheeler realized his father was looking for reassurance. That was new. "Dad, I don't know if you heard, but I suddenly got plans for the weekend. Really, really fun plans. I'm not about to cancel them, even for the end of the world."

It worked. His father grinned. "I'll bet." He chuckled. "Good hunting, James. I'll see you on the flipside."

* * *

"Be careful!" Ruby said for the thirtieth time.

"I will." Linka promised, giving the girl a hug. "I love you, kid. And I don't plan to miss seeing you grow up."

Ruby hugged her back hard enough to hurt. "Do you have to go?"

"I'm afraid so. I take care of Wheeler and the others, you take care of Alana while I'm gone."

"And I take care of you when you're here." Ruby said solemnly.

"Couldn't survive without you." Linka promised dutifully. "Now, I gotta talk to Grandmother for a bit. Big people talk."

Ruby nodded and gave them the room.

"You sure you're up for this?" Alana quipped. "You seemed to be walking funny this morning."

Linka blushed bright pink. "No. If this is the last time we speak, it won't be you mocking me over last night. You can't push me into falling in love and then needle me over it at the same time."

"I'm your grandmother, I can be as contrary as I wish." Alana said. "But seriously... are you sure you want to win this one?"

Linka sobered. "To be honest, I don't know. But if I plan to... open my heart up a bit more, my last bit of being icy and distant will be today, making sure the others can go through with it." She shrugged as though it didn't matter. "We know those people, and unlike me, it might make the Planeteers hesitate."

Alana gave her a hard look.

Linka confessed. "Look... I gotta protect my people. And if it's my own mother or them, I'll do what I have to. To say nothing of saving the world."

"You've always had your eye on the big picture, Linka." Alana said. "I'm glad that you're focusing on what's in front of you for once.

"What about you?" Linka asked. "If it comes right down to it... I mean, she's your family too."

"Back in the day, I had to make that choice once. When your grandfather decided to get me out with you, while he stayed to fight the good fight." Alana gave her a flinty gaze. "You're my family. Ruby's my family. Your mother and I parted ways a long time ago. If it comes to that... Tell your mother I said goodbye. Or if it helps you stay alive, don't tell her anything at all."

* * *

"If you'd told me six months ago that I'd be on my way to pull a coup against my boss, I'd give you about fifty-fifty odds of being right." Bligh commented. "If you'd told me it was because I was helping you, I'd have laughed."

"I've never seen you laugh." Ma-Ti said, walking with her. "Are you sure you want to do this, Bligh? In a way that only Lizzie and I understand, you're going into far more danger than I am."

"Mm. Danger doesn't concern me." Bligh said. "But I won't be like them. I've been watching the TV all week. The most wealthy people in the world, walking off rooftops with smiles on their faces. I won't be like them."

"I've done all I can to help you with that." Ma-Ti promised. "But the truth is, we don't know how much power Stumm has, or over what. Quinn was the one who influenced the general public. But how much power Stumm had over her is an open question." He raised his Golden Ring a little. "I can't control you. I can't shift the hearts of the Stone Hearted." He looked up at Bligh. "This will depend more on your own Power of Will than anything else Stumm can bring to bear."

By this time, they had reached the path. The one part of the island that a private jet could use as an airstrip. Wheeler and Kwame had taken turns burning out a proper airstrip for her. "I'm a little surprised." Ma-Ti said. "Wheeler's told us how far you flew to get him here. Does this thing have enough fuel for the return trip?"

Bligh smirked sardonically. "It's very fuel efficient. In fact, it's mostly electric."

Silence.

Ma-Ti suddenly burst out laughing, and Bligh did the same. It was the first time she'd laughed without cruelty in as long as she could remember. "Oh, mercy. Are you very sure you haven't done anything to my head?"

"Believe me, Bligh. If I could have made you compliant, I would have done it a year ago."

"I bet." Bligh gestured. "The Geo-Cruiser is slower than my Corporation Jet. If we're going to time our arrivals right…"

"We're ready." Ma-Ti nodded. "Good luck, Bligh. For what it's worth, I hope we both live through this."

Bligh looked back. "You do, don't you?" She said quietly. "It's funny, but… Nobody's ever 'hoped I make it' before." She stepped to the stairs on her jet and looked back. "This isn't going to work, you know." She told him gently. "You can't be in three places. And as much as I wanna kill that bastard, I'm not trying to be part of your Hero team. Stumm's made redundancies. Why not just let the military and the Gauntlet kick the crap outta each other? Maybe Gauntlet wins, maybe not."

"Either way, it'll be a slaughter."

"Which you will survive, by laying back on your private tropical island. Ask Linka and Wheeler, I'm betting they'd have more fun here."

Ma-Ti smiled a bit. "Bligh, you've met Gaia now. When she first called us together, we discussed whether or not to accept her mission. The consensus was that Gaia showed an awful lot of trust, giving us some of her power. If Gaia had thought like you, she could have just sent a dozen tidal waves and wiped two thirds of us out. Problem solved. But she trusted us." Ma-Ti turned to go. "Time for us to put our trust in others to help us. Including you."

* * *

Kwame and Gi came towards the dock, hand in hand. She'd had her own teary farewells and wishes of good fortune from Gi's parents, and as Kwame had no family left, they'd adopted him too.

"Funny thing is, when I started this mission a year ago, I couldn't even tell them where I was going." Gi said quietly as they walked. "Now I'm telling them that I'm off to run interference on the Apocalypse, and they're wishing me luck."

"It's been quite a year." Kwame agreed.

They had reached the Geo-Cruiser, and found Ma-Ti waiting for them at the end of the dock. The three of them walked along the stone, out to the Geo-Cruiser, and Kwame looked back the way they came. "Where's Linka and Wheeler?"

Ma-Ti rolled his eyes and hammered his fist on the side of the Geo-Cruiser. From inside, there was a sudden scuffling sound, which continued for a few moments, until the hatch popped open with a gust of unnaturally hot air. Short of breath, Wheeler stuck his head out. "Five more minutes?"

"End of the world." Gi reminded him with a dirty grin.

Wheeler groaned. "Ohh, I hate the end of the world." He glanced around. "Where's JJ?"

* * *

"Thanks for doing this, Bligh." JJ said quietly. "Since we were both heading for New York, it seemed like my best option."

"Your best options both said no. You're lucky I don't care that much about your chances of survival." Bligh commented lightly. "And hey, I might need a human shield before all this is over."

JJ scoffed. "Not likely. You're heading upstate, I'm heading for Midtown. I'll parachute out if I have to, but-"

"May as well come as far as JFK. We're pushing the fuel tank as it is." Bligh retorted.

* * *

The Corporation Headquarters were quiet when Bligh landed in the parking lot. There had been nothing moving at the airport, which was good, because there was nobody responding from the control tower. Bligh wasn't sure if the skies were locked down, or if nobody had decided to fly, but it had taken her Corporation Clearance to get a helicopter. She couldn't find a pilot. Even the ones she had numbers for wouldn't pick up.

Bligh could fly a helicopter just as well as a jet. JJ had split off to head into New York, and she took the chopper to Headquarters, over the city. There were no cars or trucks moving. She caught glimpses of service stations, closed and dark, when they weren't burning outright. The crowds were more or less orderly, with only a few pitched riots being fought. The armed men she could see were surrounding the supermarkets, fortifying them.

Bligh shivered. It was her gamed scenario, brought to life.

There was a burning helicopter on the landing pad at the Corporation Headquarters. She had no idea if it had crashed, or if someone had shot at it. But there was no sign of anyone fighting the fire.

She landed in the parking lot. She saw one person, sitting alongside the gutter, chain smoking with a kind of hungry intensity, knees drawn up close. She recognized him as the Parking Lot Attendant. She had walked past him every day.

"I wouldn't go in there." He called over to her as she stepped out of the chopper. "Bad things happen in there. Bad, bad, bad."

Bligh drew her gun and shifted it to a concealed holster. "I know."

* * *

JJ went to the Foundation Offices. They were abandoned. There were three or four bodies, though JJ had no idea if they were people he knew, given the state they were in. But the greenhouses were untouched, same with the container farms, the workshops… In the workshops, he found what he was looking for.

"Hi." Emily said quietly when she heard him come in, not looking away from the plants. "I knew you'd be back. If this is the end of the world, I'd like to think you would come here. If I'm honest, that's part of the reason why I came back too."

JJ came into the workshop slowly. "I just… had to try."

"To what? To save me?" Emily laughed sickly, and turned to face him. Her eyes were red, and her hands had dried blood on them. Not her own.

"I've been walking the streets for three hours." JJ sat down heavily. "I can't find Polly, Avery's place is way too far to try and get to without the subway; not with the streets like th-"

"Avery's upstairs. He hadn't slept in a week." Emily said heavily. "You went to my place too?"

"What was left of it." He nodded gently.

Emily nodded, having expected that. "My dad… he Tried To Fly."

JJ looked shocked. "Ohno, Em…"

Emily started to cry, for the twentieth time in an hour. "I don't know what your brother and his team did; but the Spell broke, and… and I realized I was trashing a place that had people in it." She gestured at her hands. "This blood isn't mine, and I was loaded so often that I honestly can't tell you where it came from. My dad… I was cheering, just like all the others. So many others, JJ!"

JJ came over and started to hug her. She came alive in his arms and started thrashing. "No, don't-get-get-away! Don't…" An instant later she was bawling, JJ holding her tightly.

They rocked together like that for a long time. After an eternity, there was a light knock on the door. JJ pulled back just enough to see Avery, hiding behind the doorway. "JJ, good to see you." He licked his lips. "Listen, someone came in downstairs, and I think you should meet her."

"Bligh followed me?" JJ blinked.

And then someone pushed past Avery. "Karen Gillys, mister Johnson. Perhaps your brother mentioned me?"

"He did." JJ acknowledged, still hugging Emily. "But if you're looking for an interview, it really isn't the time."

"This I know." Karen nodded. "If you've been following the news at all; you know that my superiors have all abandoned their posts, though where they think they're going, I have no idea. There's nowhere to run." The young woman took a breath. "Listen, I've been following the feeds from all sorts of places, and even if it isn't being reported anymore, I think I can guess what comes next." She almost smiled. "There's an old reporter joke that if the world came to an end, the only thing a good reporter should worry about is where to put the camera."

"And you decided to point one at me?" JJ quipped. "I'm flattered."

"Actually, I was wondering if The Foundation still had it in them to fight the Good Fight, one last time."

* * *

The Geo-Cruiser came over the huge lake where Hoover Dam used to be, following the floodwaters. The waters didn't make it all the way to Vegas, but it was close enough.

Nobody said anything for most of the flight. Gi was in the pilot's seat as usual, with Kwame beside her. Linka was behind them, Wheeler holding her free hand as her Ring shone.

They could have said it, but they didn't. There was no point. Their only hope of certain victory was to unleash their secret weapon, which was exactly what the bad guys wanted them to do.

"Remember, we have to hold out as long as we can. Give Colonel Johnson and Bligh as much time as we can spare them." Kwame told them again as they flew closer. "If there are still people down there, we have to get them out. Stick close to each other. The last time, they were just toying with us, one on one. Don't give them that chance again. Our powers combine. Theirs don't."

"We don't know if taking Quinn off the Board is going to change things for Gauntlet." Linka said from the front of the Glider. "The fact that they're all here says they're still as committed. We'd all like it if they changed their minds, but I don't plan on holding back if they so much as look at us sideways."

They all knew these things, but it was still good to have someone say them out loud first.

"Also, if it comes to that, our first priority-"

WHAM!

The Geo-Cruiser reeled like it had been hit with an uppercut. Linka gripped the controls. "Wheeler, help me out!" She yelled.

Wheeler lifted his Ring, and the stone glowed brightly. "Go!"

Linka reached out, increasing her power with his. "WIND!"

The Cruiser settled, picking up speed. The famous Vegas strip was spread in front of them, coming up way too fast.

"Three o'clock!" Kwame shouted.

Linka looked. Her mother, in full Gauntlet mask and hood, was at eye level, about twenty feet beside them, riding a whirlwind, tight and powerful enough to be visible at her waist.

"Babe, when we win this thing, you gotta try that." Wheeler quipped. "FIRE!"

A swift ball of flame was summoned, flying at their opponent. It burst into an explosion just ahead of her, and Gauntlet-White was suddenly out of view. An instant later, she landed on the canopy. With a roar, the Geo-Cruiser started to spin, a windstorm forming above them.

"Low pressure change!" Gi warned. "Watch out for dead air at-"

The Geo-Cruiser suddenly dropped, like a hand had reached up and yanked it downwards.

"Help me!" Linka yelled, raising her Ring again. Kwame and Wheeler did so, feeding her power.

"NO!" Gi shouted. "Too much strain on the fuselage! Too muc-"

With a huge creaking noise, the Geo-Cruiser broke in half, along the wings. Linka and Gi fell in the nose section, the boys spinning down in the rest of the craft, beyond control.

"Wheeler! With me!" Kwame called. "EARTH!"

Wheeler added his power to Kwame's, and…

They hit the ground like a brick… and sank into it smoothly. Wheeler let out a shout as they came back up, the solid ground suddenly so soft and fluid that it caught them gently.

Kwame lowered his shining Ring, and unstrapped himself as the ground was suddenly quicksand. "Hopefully, Linka was able to catch the other half of the Cruiser before it hit."

Wheeler, stunned, fought for cool as the dirt lifted them back up to surface level and solidified again. "Yeah." He squeaked. "I didn't know you could do that!"

"Neither did I." Kwame said lightly.

Ma-Ti was already free. "Come on. We have to find the others."

Wheeler released his straps and stood on wobbly legs. "Listen, we didn't get long enough to work up a strategy, beyond powering each other up; but I think that if Zarm's plan is to have Gauntlet take the whole world along with it... I think we both know which one is most likely to have that kind of power. Their Gauntlets don't combine the way our Rings do."

"Matali." Kwame nodded. "He can open a canyon as deep as a natural fault line."

"No matter how big a tornado, it's not going to sink the western seaboard." Wheeler agreed. "I hate to say it, man; but if we can't win this; our top priority has to be minimizing the damage Gauntlet can do..."

"And that means Matali is our primary target." Kwame said grimly. "I know. God forgive me."

As if responding to his name, Matali appeared in front of them. "Welcome to The Show!" He called gleefully.

"Matali!" Kwame shouted back. "Listen to me! We-"

With a casual gesture, Matali ripped the ground apart. Kwame was suddenly thrust ten feet into the air as the ground beneath his feet elevated so fast he didn't have time to dodge. Matali grinned at Wheeler, sizing up the next strike.

* * *

Bligh could feel it, crawling in her brain, ticking at her joints. It felt like something was clawing at her teeth, trying to pull them out. Bligh set her jaw and kept walking. Her stride was shaking, getting shorter. It was like she was walking into a strong wind she could barely feel.

Bligh kept going.

She had expected some kind of challenge, but there was nothing. No guards, no checkpoints… the doors weren't even locked. She walked through the building, and heard phones ringing in the distance. Nobody answering them. Here and there, she saw bodies. They were almost skeletal, clutching at their throats.

The pressure was like someone was digging a claw hammer into her head now. Bligh could hear her pulse thundering in her ears, and it felt like something was tearing in two. She was driven to her knees by the feeling, going from walking, to crawling, dragging herself by her fingernails.

Bligh kept going.

The funk that had consumed Stumm's office now seemed to be dripping down the walls of the entire building. The same corrupt rot. She made it to the elevator without passing out. It took all her strength to push herself upright enough that she could swipe her security clearance to head for the Penthouse Level. Her clearance hadn't been canceled..

The pressure in her head faded instantly, and Bligh understood, getting back to her feet. He wanted the confrontation.

Stumm wasn't scared of her at all.

* * *

Wheeler and Ma-Ti had been separated by the huge canyons opening and closing across the Strip. ma-Ti had ducked into a building and spent the next few minutes evading as it feel on him in pieces, the earth shaking it apart.

Matali couldn't see him, and was more interested in the others.

Ma-Ti reached out with his powers, trying to find reinforcements. Most of the animals had fled the Gauntlet long before now. But there were still one or two species that feared nothing.

 _Matali!_ He shouted without using his voice. _You have been deceived! We took Quinn's Gauntlet off! We know what happened! Zarm lied to you!_

The walls around him suddenly vanished, revealing Matali right in his face. "He told us EVERYTHING!" The man raged. "More than Gaia ever told you!"

Matali gathrered for another attack, when he looked down and saw a cloud of insects. Termites, flies, and roaches crawling up his body, the world's smallest, hardest to kill creatures, determined to get to him. Distracted, he slapped at them briefly; giving Ma-Ti enough time to dart forward and lay his hands on Matali's chest.

"I'm sorry, Matali." Ma-Ti hissed, and focused his power, drawing the life out of Matali's chest. The man screamed, and thrashed, feeling his heart stop. "There's no Quinn to start you up again." Ma-Ti said with reluctance.

Matali was still thrashing, gasping, when a sudden burst of flame formed around ma-Ti's hands, and the boy jumped back with a shout, the flammes cascading down Matali's clothes to scorch away the attacking infestations.

Trish was suddenly right there, fire licking around her fingertips. "By the time we're done with you, there won't be enough of the Planeteers left to fill a matchbox." Trish grinned savagely.

* * *

The elevator doors opened, and Bligh cat-walked out, on her toes, one hand itching to grab at her gun.

"So, you gave them Quinn." Stumm called from his office; not at all concerned. His voice seemed to slither off the moldy walls.

"They had Quinn long before I got there." Bligh called back, following the voice. "I gave them Wheeler."

"You know that was always part of the plan." Stumm didn't turn his chair to face her as she came into his office. He looked more like a zombie every time she saw him.

"Yeah, it was part of the plan." Bligh nodded, coming closer. "So were a few other things. Things you failed to mention before."

"I understand." Stumm said. "You saw real power, and you wanted it."

"I was tired of being a small player." Bligh said, gesturing the view of the city, with fires raging here and there, unchallenged. "I've seen the spell your drones are under, and you have to know I was watching when you killed the Board." Bligh said, matter of fact.

"I did." Stumm confirmed.

"So I looked for a way to upgrade." Bligh said, as though such things were done every day. "I wasn't about to side with the Planeteers. Why would I side with my enemy? But it got me this." She tapped the Gold-Stoned Gauntlet on her arm.

"And that got you right through my front door." Stumm nodded. "Well, I should send you to Vegas, I suppose. Five against five is a far more interesting showdown."

"It would be. Except that from what I can see, Gauntlet isn't even expected to survive." Bligh countered. "The point of this is to be more than an expendable pawn, which right now is everyone in the human race, except for you."

Stumm lifted his black Ring. "I'm not asking." He glowered.

The sudden pressure came back, swift enough to pole-axe Bligh, and drive her to her knees. She grit her teeth, tasting blood in the back of her throat. Whatever he'd done to the Board, he was trying to do it to her now; and she threw her covered hand up, as though to ward it off.

"Don't think that the bracelet you're wearing will have any effect on me. They came from me, after all."

"The Gauntlet isn't... to attack... you. It's... to keep you... from controlling me." Bligh ground out. "I can feel it working… and I can feel it losing."

The Black Ring on his hand glimmered dangerously. "That's right." He said darkly. "Now, do as I say!"

She drew a gun from her waistband and pointed it at him. "Nobody tells me what to do." Bligh snarled, and pulled the trigger.

The bullets hit Stumm dead center in the chest, and he dropped back into his chair. He looked down at himself, surprised. He was barely bleeding. He actually seemed more surprised than hurt. He touched the wounds, like he wasn't sure what they were.

* * *

 **Impossible! The Gauntlet's belong to me! How can she use one against me?!**

 _You can only dominate. You cannot convince._

 **Stumm convinced Quinn.**

 _And Quinn forced the others to wear those Gauntlets, making them yours. Bligh was never one of yours. She was only her own. This is the point you never understood, Zarm. Life wants to live. Life can change. Destruction is static. Those who want to live can want any number of things. Those who want destruction can only find success one way._

 **One way is all I need.**

 _It didn't help with Bligh. Ask Ma-Ti. Nothing is stronger than the heart of a volunteer._

* * *

"I thought I had you, Bligh." Stumm said hoarsely. "I really thought you were on my side."

"Your side means extinction for everyone except yourself." Bligh shot back. "And that's assuming your master from another world told you the truth."

 _ **Why would I lie?**_

Bligh didn't jump. She never showed such weakness as to flinch when surprised, but she turned to meet the new contender.

* * *

Linka and Gi had escaped their half of the Geo-Cruiser without too much trouble, and were trying to find the rest of their team. The Vegas Strip was dark and empty, but they knew the hit was going to come any minute. They could hear the ground opening and closing up ahead of them.

At the other end of the Strip, they saw the rest of their team, hundreds of meters away.

"The other half of the Geo-Cruiser must have gone a long way on the drop." Gi observed.

Linka started to run towards them, when the ground started to shake. Then it shook _hard_ , enough to send them rolling, enough to shatter every pane of glass. Linka could feel the buildings around them starting to give, and twist; before beginning their collapse. Linka threw herself across Gi, covering the smaller woman as a wave of dust and debris peppered into them. Linka clenched a fist around her Ring, and make a strong wind to keep the razor-sharp particles away.

 _Linka._ Ma-Ti said in her mind, somehow clear enough to be heard over the whole city falling on itself. _I can sense them. Matali and Cho are in your four o'clock position. Much closer to you than us._

Linka spun like a gunslinger. "Gi, help me out!"

Gi did so, feeding Linka's power with her own. With a sudden roar that made Linka's ears pop; the dust and debris was sucked together by a burst of wind that grew stronger and tighter, forming a full tornado. The dust rubbed together swiftly in the tornado that formed, and the clear blue sky forked with loud, constant lightning.

Linka threw her arms forward like she was pitching a fastball, and the Tornado responded, following the path she drew for it.

Linka had a half-second view of two members of Team Gauntlet trying to escape the storm, being picked up by the force of it anyway.

"How do you like it when it's not one on one?!" Gi shouted over.

Just then, Gauntlet-White dropped from the sky behind them, and with a roar, took control of the Tornado. "You think you can match me, daughter?! Let me show you what a real storm looks like!"

"Mom, stand down!" Linka yelled. "You know the rules have changed. This isn't you 'finishing the job your daughter started' or anything remotely positive. This is to end the world!"

"I'm not giving the Gauntlet back!" Agent Petrova nearly shrieked. The lightning forked and spat and cracked, again and again, like someone was cracking a whip down the length of the street, and battle was joined again.

* * *

Bligh looked him over carefully as he coalesced into being. He was vaguely humanoid, but very clearly not human. He wore a cloak of obsidian black, which covered his pebbly, blood-purple skin, glowing yellow eyes, and hooked fangs. Bligh was fearless at any speed, but his gaze on her was like something real and crawling into her skin.

 _ **"I'm not from another world, Bligh. I'm from this one, long before anyone, including Gaia, had heard words like 'tree' and 'animal' and 'dinosaur' and 'man'."**_ Zarm said. _ **"I saw the passing of epochs, and witnessed the end of all things. But I did more than survive, I became. I became anti-life, and when Gaia started again, I destroyed everything that lived, and drew strength from the anti-life that surrounded me."**_

"And now you want another taste?" Bligh challenged, and jerked a thumb at Stumm. "Y'know, I lost all respect for him when I found out he'd become such a Thrall. Don't disappoint me by saying you're the same, only hungrier."

 _ **"And I gained respect for you when I knew you weren't just a follower."**_ Zarm told her. _**"You're worth more than Stumm."**_

"What?" Stumm asked, surprised.

 _ **"Stumm was willing to let me eat the world if it meant he'd be there on top when the next one started. What about you, Bligh? What's your price?"**_

Bligh set her jaw. "I don't work for you."

Zarm's eyes blazed with a new kind of fire, and Bligh suddenly found herself surrounded by a place she hadn't seen for a year.

* * *

 _Devorux's private quarters on the Mobile Oil Rig was filled with such nauseating opulence that Bligh had been only too happy to double cross him, and later put him down._

 _But this memory, brought to life before her eyes, was the time they'd had dinner, once the Rig had proven itself successful. Bligh remembered that they had shared their mutual life philosophies with each other. Devorux's was to bury himself with wealth and treasure like an Ancient Pharaoh._

" _So you get a million dollars one day. You won't be happy unless you get two million." Bligh had sneered. "You get two million; you won't be happy unless you get five. And you get caught; you can trade it in for bread and water."_

 _"Oh please. You have any idea how cushy prison life can be when you've got money? If they send me away, I'll have guards saluting as I walk past my private Five Star cell." He chuckled darkly. "Besides, if it's all for nothing, what's your stake in this then? They find us here, you stand to lose as much as I do."_

 _Bligh snorted. "I'm smarter than you. So much so, that I should be running things here. So much so, that I should be running a lot more of this Corporation." She growled low, under her breath. "I'm not. And none of that is my fault. I agree; living for today is the only option. But when I'm gone, people are going to remember my name." She smiled brilliantly, suddenly exquisitely beautiful. "Money is not the point. You can't take that with you. Control is the issue. I intend to live forever. Immortal. There are ways. But that takes money. Takes power. The top 3 percent of this world rule the rest of it. They are subject to laws as it suits them. All those 'saps' as you put them; they fight their way through life because they can't control it. I am in control of my own life, and nobody gave me anything." She gestured at Devorux's plate. "I intend to live as a god; not a vacuum cleaner."_

 _"You can't take power with you either."_

 _"Maybe not. But they're going to know my name." Bligh vowed._

 _Devorux considered that a moment. "Well, to each their own. Here's to us, gods among dumb animals."_

* * *

Bligh sucked in a breath as she came out of the sudden vision of her past.

 _ **"You see, Bligh? You understood. Life is temporary, and that makes it a failure."**_ Zarm said with silky menace. _**"You've always known this. That's why you never cared for the damage you left in your wake. What if there was more power to be gained, and no fear of tomorrow to come? You have to know the brats can't win. I've made sure there was nothing they can do to beat me. You're practical. Looking out for number one. You tell me? What would someone like you do?"**_

Bligh considered that for an instant, and reached out to Stumm. For a moment, he reached back, as though she was offering to help, but she gripped his wrist, and pulled the black ring off. Stumm gave a shout, and tried to take it back, but by the time he reached, it was too late. His hand withered and wrinkled into itself, and so did the rest of his skin. He turned grey and stank, with his teeth rotting away, and the rest of him soon after. Within seconds, Bligh was there with what looked like a decayed mummy that nobody had bothered to wrap.

Stumm had been nothing but Zarm's corruption, and severed from him, he was nothing at all.

"And there's his mistake." Bligh said to Zarm, as though such things were commonplace. "You want to know what a survivor would do? A survivor only has one rule: Never rely on anything you can't walk away from at a moment's notice. Stumm wasn't your servant, he was an appetizer."

* * *

The battle was getting uglier. Lightning was still whipping across the whole battlefield. Cho was summoning water from the fountains, the pipes, and the ground was tearing itself up, the pipes propelled by the liquid in them, whipping at Gi, who did her best to wrestle them away.

Trish was hurling fireballs madly, from each hand, one after another. Wheeler and Linka together were batting them away, even tossing some back, though the heat meant nothing to Trish.

It was a stalemate. The Planeteers combined powers were enough to hold Gauntlet in check, but the Gauntlets were just too strong for the Planeteers to try an offensive.

Something finally gave, when Petrova was finally able to wrestle the tornado away, and turned her attention to the Planeteers. "AIR!" She summoned angrily…

And Linka dropped, feeling the air vanish from her lungs. She gasped, but it just wasn't coming. The air had been taken away from her.

* * *

Zarm glowered at the Black Ring in Bligh's hand. _ **"Put the Ring on, Bligh."**_

Bligh allowed herself one cold grin. "And there it is. It doesn't matter who wears it. You just need someone willing to serve."

 ** _"I DON'T NEED YOU!" _**Zarm's voice was able to shake apart the universe. **_"I NEED NOTHING!"_**

Bligh held out the Ring. "Then you should take this back."

Zarm looked at the Ring, didn't reach for it.

* * *

At the moment Stumm died, the Gauntlet Team all froze, like the circuit had been broken.

Linka gasped for oxygen as the air returned to her lungs.

Ivana stared down at her daughter, like she didn't recognize what she was seeing.

* * *

 ** _"Put the Ring on, Bligh. You could outlive the planet."_** Zarm tempted. **_"You can certainly rule the next one. You can be a god. That was what you wanted. You said it yourself. To be better than the Drones. To be eternal, and have everyone know your name."_**

"Subject to you." She countered.

 ** _"Subject to one person, with thousands of millions at your feet."_** Zarm tempted. _**"You don't care about the Planet-Brats, or their cause. You've been their enemy long enough. Why not be the one that beat them?"**_

Bligh made a fist around the Black Ring. The golden stone on the Gauntlet that wrapped around her other wrist glimmered dangerously.

 _ **"Think of all the things you hate about this world. I know you. It's a long list."** _Zarm tempted. **_"You can set a match to all of it, right now. The next era can be made in your image. Towers and monuments a hundred miles high, all to you."_**

Bligh looked at him for a spellbound moment.

 _ **"Put on the Ring, Bligh. Become my Avatar."** _Zarm tempted. _**"You can have anything. And everything. And when you decide you don't like what you've got, you can have everything else."**_

"What I want…" Bligh breathed. "Is what I am."

 _ **"And?"**_

Bligh felt him pressing down on her will, like her brain was in a vice. With a yell, she forced his presence away, and grinned savagely. "Nobody tells me what to do!"

And with that, she flipped the Black Ring up like tossing a coin… and put a bullet through it. She turned to gloat at Zarm…

He was gone. If he'd ever really been there.

* * *

 **You were smart, making your Rings so hard to destroy.**

 _I knew your forces would take a shot at them eventually. Now what will you do? Without your Avatar, you're just a voice in the wind._

 **You're a fool, if you think I can't finish this.**

 _What? Personally? In the entire Game, you've never done that._

* * *

Gauntlet was shaking their heads, trying to focus. The Planeteers were bloodied and bruised, with Linka having had taken the worst of it. She was concussed, eyes rolling in different directions. Wheeler had fought his way over to her.

The only one of the Gauntlets still actively fighting was Trish. She was gathering for her next attack, when Ma-Ti suddenly appeared behind her. "I've never tried this before today. The boy said in her ear. "Quinn showed me how. I've healed before, but I've never taken that energy from someone else."

Trish turned to slap Ma-Ti with her flames, when his fingers brushed against her neck from behind, and she seized up, trying to scream, and not getting there.

With a gesture, Ma-Ti extended his other hand towards Linka, who suddenly found she could focus again.

Looking at her injuries carefully, Wheeler's face changed to awe as her wounds closed over, and she sat up. Linka came back to her feet, as her mother pulled the mask and hood off, looking confused. "Linka? What's going on?"

Linka played a chance. "Mom? Take the Gauntlet off!"

Her mother's face turned to stone. "Never!"

Linka looked around and saw the other Gauntlet's having the same momentary confusion. "Mom, if you're still in there, then hear me: Stumm is most likely dead. It's over. Let go of those Gauntlets before you can't anymore."

Ivana made a fist with her Gauntleted hand. "I'll take my Gauntlet off… if you take your Ring off, Daughter."

Linka's face hardened. "No, I won't be doing that."

 _ **Hahahahahahaha! Of course you won't! Because you need to have the power, don't you?**_

Linka spun, and found something totally unexpected before her. Gaia had shown her a vision of Zarm, but that was nothing compared to the sheer horror of the real thing.

And he was smiling at her. **_"You need the other guy to blink first, even with the world as the prize, even when it's your own mother against you. You still need the other side to admit that you're right and they're wrong."_**

Linka felt the courage she'd felt, the determination, the fury… it all drained away in an instant, sucked out of her under the gaze of something ancient and malevolent.

Zarm knew it too. He looked at the Planeteers, and started laughing. Gauntlet rose, suddenly united and determined again; and the war was back on as they stood with their true Leader.

* * *

Bligh wandered, mostly aimless through the Corporation Headquarters. There was nobody else there. Not in any of the offices, not in any of the meeting rooms. The phones were ringing off the hook, and there was nobody to answer them.

Bligh felt like she could see through it all. She just... looked through the world she had been at the top of like it was suddenly made of glass.

"This was the legacy." She whispered. "Dead, rotting bodies, in a filthy, abandoned tower."

 **What would Hope Island look like, if the people living there vanished suddenly?**

Bligh didn't jump, though she was surprised. "Gaia. Aren't you needed elsewhere right now?"

 **I trust my people.** The other said, though her voice wasn't exactly coming from anywhere. **What do you think Hope Island would look like without people?**

Bligh set her jaw. "It wouldn't look like this, if that's what you mean. It would keep going, healthy and strong."

 **Yes.**

Bligh wandered without thinking, and eventually wound up in her own office. "I guess I'm in charge now, huh? With Stumm gone, the Board, and everyone else in the building, I guess I'm in charge of The Corporation."

 **Yes.**

Bligh looked around and then wandered up to Stumm's penthouse offices. The second she walked into the Boardroom, the smell hit her. It was the stink of pure death and decay. It was the stink of corruption, like the whole building had cancer, and the penthouse level was turning necrotic.

Bligh looked at the chair. His chair. Expensive, grandiose...She remembered watching him butcher the entire Board of Directors from this chair.

And Bligh, the hardest, sharpest, toughest person who ever walked these halls, suddenly turned and retched against the wall.

When she finished heaving, she wiped her mouth and left the room, walking into the CEO's office. The feel of this place was even worse, if less crowded. Gaia was there, visible again. The Life-Sprite had wandered over to Stumm's dead office plant, and ran a finger along its oily, blackened leaves. With Bligh watching, it suddenly was restored to life, turning green and leafy.

"How wretched this all must look to you." Bligh spat thickly.

 **"And you, Barbara? How does it look to you?"** She asked, her voice audible with the ears for the first time.

Bligh said nothing for a moment, realizing she had forgotten something. "Mal!"

* * *

Zarm wasn't fighting directly. The debris, even the lightning seemed to pass through him; but his effect on the Gauntlet was obvious. The pitying, dismissive people that told the Planeteers to 'go home and let the adults save the world' were gone, and in their place was something animalistic, almost demonic. Zarm had whipped his people into a frenzy.

Matali had opened canyons in the ground, trying to split the Planeteers apart.

Linka and Wheeler had would up on one side of the the split in the ground, and hadn't bothered trying to find their way back before countering. Their combined powers hurled fireballs across at Gauntlet.

Matali took a hit right in the chest, and dropped. Trish strode over to him, in no particular hurry, not bothered with his howling. Instantly, the flames leaped from Matali's body to her hand, and she hurled them back towards Gi.

Gi let out a shout and ducked, when a rock wall suddenly appeared in front of her, Kwame providing cover. "We have to get back to the others." He said. "We let them split us up, we're dead!"

* * *

Bligh came to the Panic Room in her old office, and opened the door. Mal was huddled in the back of the room, as far from the monitors as he could get. "Is it over?" He whispered when he saw Bligh.

And despite herself, Bligh felt a wave of sympathy roll over her. The first sympathy she'd felt in ages. "Yes." She whispered.

Mal rubbed his eyes. "I could hear them. The entire building, trying to get out when he…" He waved at the monitor. "I saw you and Stumm. I even saw… him."

Bligh nodded and pulled Mal to his feet. "Come on. You've been in here long enough."

* * *

It was true that there was no communications coming out of the battlezone, but high overhead, there were some observations being made. At a hastily arranged briefing, General Conner made his case, the lights glinting off the three stars on each shoulder of his uniform.

"These pictures are from a satellite we haven't told anyone about, and a UAV we don't have the right to launch domestically. But it's more or less anarchy out there now. And the reason why is currently there in those photos."

Those assembled were some of the more powerful people in the military, and the UN. One or two from global law enforcement. The Corporation was meant to have Stumm himself there at some point, but he never showed, and they could reach any of his people.

"We've spent a week under the thrall of powers that frankly, defy our comprehension. There are only two known groups who have the ability to do the things we've seen this week. They're currently at war with each other in what used to be Vegas." General Connor gave them all a moment to digest that. "After the last week, we do have one possible solution. Command and Control has been put in the field. Which means I have discretionary powers to make full use of our deterrent, to ensure the protection of the species. And make no mistake, that's what's at stake here."

* * *

Outside the briefing, trying to get in, was Wheeler's father. "Listen to me, soldier. I'm a Colonel, and you're a Sargent. That means you get out of my way, and offer to shine my boots as you do so."

"I know who you are, sir." The Sergeant said simply. "And I know that your son is the reason this meeting is even happening."

"I gave you an order!"

"Have you seen the latest news reports? What are you gonna do? Court Martial me?"

"Let him in." Another voice grated, and Colonel Johnson turned to see a familiar face. "Agent Petrov." Linka's father flashed his credentials. "He's with me. We need to get in there."

"I know who you are too, sir." The Sargent didn't move. "My mother lived in Vegas. You're not on the list, and I'm not inclined to make an exception for either of-" The Sargent's desk phone rang, and he picked it up. "Station Desk." He listened for a moment, before his eyes flashed. "Yes, Ma'am?" His eyes flicked back to both men. "As you say." He hung up. "Fine. You can go in."

The Colonel flicked his eyes up to the security camera over the door. "Thank you." He mouthed.

* * *

"Why?" Mal asked Bligh. "Why let Colonel Johnston into the briefing?"

Watching on her monitors, Bligh disconnected the call, and returned to the main feed. She was getting camera footage of The General addressing the assembled Military leaders. One or two political leaders were also tied in on screens, listening to the briefing. "Wheeler said something to me the other day. He was asking why I was switching teams."

"The end of the world isn't a bad reason." Mal reported dutifully.

"I know. But the thing is, Wheeler pointed out that we've been killing the world for years." Bligh sighed. "And he was right, wasn't he?"

"It's never bothered you before." Mal commented.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure it should bother me now." Bligh admitted. "I hate people who change sides when it looks like they're going to lose, let alone when they're going to win."

" _When Hope Island appeared, we gamed out a scenario of what would happen if they decided to do it again, in a populated area."_ The General declared on screen. _"We have a very limited grasp of their powers, but we know that between both teams, they can put a significant number of the world population under mind control, they can demolish the entire world economy in one day, and if they performed a repeat of their Hope Island creation, they could, conceivably, crack or sink entire continental plates."_

"I helped game that scenario out." Bligh said quietly. "I admit, I may have inflated the numbers a bit. But he's not wrong. Your Planeteers could wipe out a lot of people."

"My Planeteers?" Mal repeated.

 **"I believe she was talking to me, actually."**

Mal jumped, spinning around with a cry. Gaia had appeared, over by the window. Mal crossed himself, shaking. "Real. She's real too. They're both real…"

 **"I chose my Agents carefully, Barbara. You of all people know the danger of handing power to someone who cannot be trusted."**

"Yes, I do."

 **"You got your wish. You have all the power you could ever want."**

Bligh scowled. "I told Devorux that greed was a waste. You get a million, you won't be happy until you get five. You get five, you won't be happy until…" She trailed off. "I guess power is the same way."

 **"Yes. Zarm started out much like you."**

"Butterfly wings. On Hope Island, you showed me butterfly wings." Bligh nodded, suddenly getting it. "I didn't understand what that was about before, but I do now. To make something work, you have to keep your hands off it. That's why you gave your power to Humans, and why Zarm's people are slaves. Hands-On for people like you is some form of Dominance, given how... small we are, next to you; and life can't work that way. Destruction can still come from the gentlest touch."

 **"Not just destruction. How heavy a touch do you need to apply, right now?"**

* * *

JJ woke up from a light nap, and looked around. The TV Station was no more secure than anywhere else in the world, but it was harder to reach. The power was off, and had been most of the night. But with the door to the stairwell barricaded, and the elevators not working, it felt safe enough to sleep, even as the streets went quiet.

There was a light knock at the door. "JJ?"

He sat, bolt upright. "Emily?"

She came in, and closed the door behind her, leaning back against it. "I…" She started to say. "I don't even know when it started. The Mind Powers, I mean."

"Me neither. It started so gradually…" JJ admitted.

"I find myself reliving the last month, wondering where it started and, I can't for the life of me be sure." She looked sad. "All those bad things I did? They weren't just put into my head. Some of them were already there."

"But you never would have done them if someone hadn't pushed you." JJ promised. "I know, because- Well, if I'm honest, I had all the same thoughts. But with my ties to the Planeteers to protect me from the 'extra push'?"

Emily bit her lip. "JJ. I dumped you somewhere in that window."

"I know." JJ said neutrally.

"Did I do that because my brain was being rewired? Maybe somehow I realized you weren't being turned like I was, and decided to get away from you? Maybe my head was just screwed up enough to change what mattered… Either way, I can't think of a reason why I would do that."

JJ carefully said nothing.

"So I'm in the next room, and I was thinking about all of this, and…" Emily trailed off. "And I was thinking about you."

JJ stood up, came over to her slowly. "I was thinking about you too. If this is the end of the world…"

And then they were in each other's arms, clutching at each other.

An instant later, the lights came on. "We got it!" Karen called from the next room. "Come on! Let's go!"

JJ broke the hold. "Now that's just bad timing!"

* * *

The lightning was cracking, fast and hard, unfocused as the wind couldn't decide which way to go. The water was snaking and twisting in the air, trying to gather any force. Agent Petrova was sucking the air from the Planeteers' lungs, and Ma-Ti was fueling his teammates with his Ring Power so that they continued to fight, without needing to breathe.

Wheeler and Linka moved without pausing to talk to each other about it, sharing the same thought. They saw a chance to go offensive, and they took it, hurling a fireball at Matali. The Gauntlet-Green took the hit dead centre in the chest and dropped. The ground stopped shaking suddenly, and it looked like the Planeteers were finally gaining the upper hand.

 _ **"ENOUGH!"**_ Zarm roared, as though personally insulted.

The Ancient Enemy reached out with his insubstantial hand, and grabbed at Matali's Gauntlet. Eyes vacant, Matali was suddenly hauled upright, eyes wide and unseeing.

 _ **"End This!"**_ Zarm snapped. And even over the sound of elemental warfare, everyone heard him clearly.

Matali reared back and slammed his gauntleted fist down on the ground. The shockwave that burst outward in all directions was enough to toss everything. The people, the buildings, the debris, the road… Everything for hundreds of meters lifted a few feet off the ground, and slammed back down again. But the shaking didn't stop.

The ground went beyond quaking, and well into 'flying apart'.

Kwame raised his ring, trying to hold it back. He felt Gi's hand on his left shoulder, and Ma-Ti on his right. The other Gauntlets strode to join their dark master, the stone in their silver Gauntlets glowing fiercely.

The feeling came back, of everything ending. Matali was blank, possibly dead already, his face completely expressionless as he tore apart a canyon down the middle of the ruined city, digging deeper and deeper until Kwame saw Lava far below.

Linka and Wheeler were fighting back, hand in hand, sending fireballs across the widening chasm towards alien warlord didn't even bother to dodge, the flames exploding against his chest and being extinguished instantly.

"Kwame…" Wheeler warned desperately.

"I know!" Kwame shouted back. "I can't hold it back!"

The canyon was expanding, throwing up tonnes of dirt and smoke into the sky, one ruined building after another fell into it, being devoured and belched up as more smoke and flame. The air became thick and charged, covering everyone in a pale grey dust, as the lightning ripped at them, the crack of electricity deafening them…

"WE HAVE TO!" Gi shouted over the roaring.

"WE CAN'T!" Linka shouted back. Her mother was across the canyon, whipping the volcanic eruption of smoke and dust into another strike. She and Wheeler together were just barely able to hold it off, the smoke and dust pasting them down, suffocating and cloying. "WE HAVE TO BUY THEM TIME!"

"TIME IS UP, LINKA!" Wheeler shouted back, and kissed her cheek. "See you on the other side."

 _I hope it's enough._ Kwame thought, and fought his way upright. "Let Our Powers Combine!"

* * *

"Sir!" A voice reported over the bank of phones. "We're reading seismic disturbances, off the scale. We actually had to redesign these charts when Hope Island Appeared. This is just getting bigger!"

"Satellite coverage is now at Zero Visibility." Another voice called. "Whatever they're doing in there, it's what they did when they made Hope Island appear."

"And that settles it." The General said firmly. "Deploy bombers. Full kiloton yield."

"General!" The Colonel called, stepping forward. "You can't do that!"

And despite the situation, everyone was looking at them.

"I know how scary these powers are to think about." Petrov put in heavily. "My wife and daughter are trying to kill each other with those powers, as we speak."

"I am a soldier. I've been a soldier for twenty five years." Colonel Johnson added. "For twenty five years, I've measured my ability to protect by my ability to destroy. And after the last week, I've realized that pretty much the whole world is in the same boat, measuring what we can do, by what we can stop from happening."

* * *

Kwame grit his teeth as the lightning flashed down like the hammer of God on the Anvil of Time. The electricity crashed down, thick as a redwood tree. Again. Again.

 _Here we go!_ Kwame thought. _Please, God… Don't let this be the end of it._

Gi clutched at his hand. "I wish we could have seen Paris!"

* * *

"Gauntlet was able to bring our world to the brink because it's in our nature to destroy ourselves. They amplified the sense that nothing can be changed, that nothing can be done. They preyed on the aggression, the despair the… the fear." Petrov plead his case. "General, the Gauntlets' whole plan is that you would be able to do nothing but lash out."

"The Planeteers have spent a year telling us that The Power Is Ours." The Colonel added. "We've been treating it like a slogan, or a buzzword. But this is the proof, right here: This choice is ours. What happens next will decide the future, and the Planeteers have no power over the choice."

"So, I'm begging you, sir." Petrov finished. "Don't choose to destroy."

And despite himself, The General was hesitating, one hand over the button. "We don't know what will happen if we let it ride."

"We have a far better idea of what will happen if you launch." Petrov told him.

 _"Are… are we on?"_

Everyone looked to the television. The news, which had been blank for most of the day, now had a familiar face on screen. It was Karen Gyllis, who had been reporting on the Planeteers for a full year, starting with being the first to see the formation of Hope Island.

Karen looked into the camera. _"The rest of the staff has… left. Like most workplaces still standing, I guess. Um… I want you to know that this isn't it. Deep down, I guess everyone's been expecting the end of the world for a long time. But this isn't it. The Fight is still on, being fought right now."_

The General glanced back at the Map, despite himself.

 _"I was there, when Hope Island was formed."_ Karen said quietly. _"I've never once told anyone what I saw… what I REALLY saw out that window. Even now, I doubt you'll believe me. But… If the reports coming out of Vegas are to be believed, I think we'll see it again real soon. I was-"_ She cleared her throat. _"I was scared. When I saw it happen, I was terrified of the sheer… unknown of what was happening. But I'm not afraid anymore. And I just wanted to tell anyone who was listening that you shouldn't be, either."_

"Don't be so sure." The General commented to himself. "Status?"

"We have sufficient hardware for a tactical strike, but… Well, after the last week, we're running short on aircraft, fuel, and pilots."

"How many pilots do we need?"

"For a domestic strike? Someone has to pull the trigger. And if the Planeteers put up a fight…"

"The Planeteers are distracted, right now." The General countered.

"The Planeteers are friendlies." Wheeler's father put in.

"Colonel, the battle in Vegas is setting off seismic markers and the atmospherics are starting to interfere with our satellite coverage, radio communications… Either you give the order now, or we may not be able to."

"Ride it out!" Petrov said again. "If Gauntlet survives the Planeteers, we can still blow a hole through the world tomorrow."

"And what if the Planeteers survive Gauntlet?" The General countered. "What will they do next? Assuming the battle doesn't crack the earth in two as it is."

Frozen beat. Everything paused, right there, feeling horribly fragile.

 _"My name is Emily."_ A voice came from the television.

The Colonel looked, despite himself. Emily was on the screen, and with her was Avery, and JJ. Karen Gillys was there, talking them through the 'interview'. The Colonel stared in disbelief at JJ, somehow in the studio.

 _"I was at one of those 'Try to Fly' parties this week."_ Emily said, eyes red and drawn. _"I was cheering. And… I just want to say, I can tell the difference now. I don't know what happened to the world this week, but I know it isn't happening now. There was something there. I hated seeing what the world was becoming, and I wanted someone to hurt for it. This last week, something gave me the push. But it isn't there now."_

Avery stepped forward. _"Now it's on us. Anything we do from this point, we can't point to people with spooky powers. We can't point to the circumstances, or the difficult times, or whatever else people say to justify being greedy, or violent, or cruel. It's all on us now."_

JJ took this turn, looking into his father's eyes through the screen, though he couldn't have known that. _"For over a year, my brother and his team have been telling the world 'The Power Is Ours'. Well, now it's time to prove it. The Planeteers are pouring everything they have into one last stand, and when it's over, whichever way it goes, it will be up to us. If we give up, if we give in, if we decide there's no hope left.. We can't blame Gauntlet. We can't blame the Planeteers, or the media, or the politicians or anything else. Every day that I worked at the Foundation, I would get someone asking me if I really believed we can make the world better. I always tell them the same thing: I believe we can. Whether or not they believe it too is up to them. The world is coming apart right now, and it's up to you to decide if it can be saved. And you can't put it on anyone else if your answer is 'no'."_

The General was listening, hesitating, almost hoping to be convinced.

The radio crackled a moment later. "This is Barbara Bligh, current CEO of The Corporation. General, your deployed forces are currently being funded, supplied, equipped and transported by my people. I have no military authority, but speaking as the backbone of your whole Machine right now… I also ask you not to attack."

Colonel Johnson pointed at the screen. "General, that's my youngest son. My eldest is on the battlefield, right now. There are a dozen different ways the world could end. There have been since the beginning of time. In several thousand years of recorded human history, we've done nothing but invent new ones. But the world kept spinning, because people like you found it in them to put the pin back in the grenade… for a day."

The General hesitated, finger over the button…

...before he switched the keypad off. "For a day." He agreed quietly. "But you better hope your son has it in him. Because if the Planeteers lose this fight, we've just lost our best chance of making sure this never happens again. And that's assuming the fight doesn't kill the world on its own!"

The Colonel smiled. "That's the point we always missed, General. The Planeteers aren't weapons of destruction. They're weapons of creation."

* * *

The unholy destructive force was more than anyone but Zarm could comprehend.

It was huge and furious, it's body was the heaviest in bedrock, the fire licking around its every limb and gesture. It just kept going up. And up. And up. It stood on pillars of creation, so wide that the puny nothing humans couldn't see one end of it from the other. It reached to the sky, so high that it could put out the sun if it wanted…

It was covered in the redwood forests; it was dressed in desert sands and coral reefs and running rivers, and shifting tides in the oceans. The waves rose with it, and it seemed to... step, through the ocean. Tornadoes wrapped across it's legs, and lightning framed it's face. Every living thing was woven through it's form,

The four Gauntlet members were rolling around on the ground, screaming hysterically as the unbelievable happened, surrounding them with the unstoppable chaos of creation. They were bawling, clawing at the Gauntlets on their arms, trying to pull them off as the all-powerful Planet-Force saw them.

The Planeteers had seen it before. So had Zarm. The last time had been out at sea. This time they had solid ground to walk around on.

But the ground didn't stay solid for long.

Zarm was untouched by the storm. He stepped forward deliberately, striding towards the Planeteers, who were holding onto each other tightly, eyes closed against the windstorm, still seeing clearly anyway.

Zarm walked right up to them as though the world wasn't tearing itself apart, atom by atom.

And from the other direction, taking mammoth steps of legs that shook the world, came Planet-Force.

The five Planeteers clung to each other, being as small as possible, as the two ancient forces stared each other down. Zarm looked up at the Planet-Force with sheer hatred on his face. And when Kwame looked upward, he saw it. It was impossible to believe, but that immense face, woven of a thousand types of living things, drawn in a force of lightning and lava and rock and wave… had an expression. Zarm's hatred was mutual.

And then came Zarm, roaring with some dark, cold rage that had been building since before the Earth had a name. Zarm lashed out a hand, as though waving at the Force From The Earth. There was a strange momentary cloud of darkness, visible only against the glowing magma that wove into the Planet-Force… which suddenly reeled back, as if struck.

Kwame felt his jaw drop. Zarm had lashed out, and the Planet had been knocked back.

And then the Planet-Force screamed back. It's shriek was the long extinct Tyrannosaurus bellowing; a thousand lions roaring in victory, a million falcons screeching, a billion wolves howling, the air erupting, lightning crashing, planetary plates coming apart... The air howled with it. The ground howled. The sky howled. The water howled. It was Life and Death erupting. Time and Space collapsing. Matter and Anti-Matter colliding.

Gi reached a hand up and pulled Kwame's face back down to her neck protectively, and the five of them held to each other as the ground suddenly vanished. They didn't fall. They weren't being pulled under, or buried. The ground simply ran away. So did the water. So did the sky.

"Gauntlet!" Linka shouted over the cacophony. "Where are they?!"

"I Can't See!" Wheeler shouted back.

"I can hear them screaming!" Ma-Ti shouted over to them. "But they won't be screaming long!"

The Planeteers could hear something moving, down below them. The sound of something moving down at the very core of the planet, tearing it's way upwards towards the surface. It was the sound of something being born from the earth.

* * *

Miles away, General Connor had put the keypad away. He, and those assembled with him, had been watching the monitors. Seismic Tremors, Lightning strike… all the readings had gone off the charts, until the screens all went dark, and the lights with them. It wasn't equipment failure. Everything had just overloaded completely.

With everything shut down, the Brass had all wandered outside where they could still see. On the horizon, they could see storm clouds gathering, getting denser and darker, lightning forking across the whole view.

"Johnson..." Connor said quietly. He didn't say anything more, and Wheeler's father didn't need him to. The message was clear: We had our chance to end this, and we didn't take it.

"It was the right choice." Johnson promised quietly… as they saw the eldritch figure emerge; somehow filling their whole view. It wasn't looking at them, wasn't approaching them. But none of them had ever seen anything like it before, and they could do nothing but watch the Force From The Earth carry out it's will; until the stormclouds grew too heavy and thick to see anything.

* * *

 **AN** : _Whew._

 _In the last week, Canada announced four new conservation parks, creating the largest stretch of protected boreal forest in the world._

 _Residential solar power in California is now on track to cost 2.5c per kW/h_

 _Australia's energy chief has announced there will be no new coal plants._

 _And Eight US States have announced federal approval for building offshore wind farms._

 _Next chapter will be the last one. The end of the trilogy. Many thanks to everyone who stuck with it this long.  
_


	9. Whole New Normal

**BREAKING NEWS:**

"This is Karen Gyllis, still on the air. (Yawn) currently in hour fourteen of the ongoing crisis. If anyone in the greater metro area has espresso left, you can be on TV for ten minutes if you bring me one. We still don't have access to our usual feeds from around the world, but it should be clear to everyone that the sun came up this morning, and we were here to see it. That's more than a lot of people were hoping for, to be honest. It means we had it in us to stay alive, and hold back from the unthinkable.

"What comes next will be harder. History has proven that building is always harder than destroying. But I hope… I hope that the legacy of our generation is that we ended up doing the right thing, when there were no choices left.

"We don't know what happened in Nevada, but it looks like the storm has passed. We're getting some weather reports that suggest the storms are easing as they spread out from the epicenter of the battle, just as they did when Hope Island arrived. We have no word on the status of the Planeteers, or The Gauntlet."

* * *

Kwame woke up first. He heard birds.

Then memory caught up, and he rose with a groan. The trees and jungle vines were all just like Hope Island.

Gi was suddenly right beside him. "Hey. Welcome back."

Kwame sat up. If he didn't know better, he'd think he was back on Hope island again. "It worked?"

"And nobody hit us." Gi nodded. "Wheeler's been trying to reach his father, but the phones are all fried. We probably knocked out every cell tower for five hundred miles."

Kwame rose. What was a wrecked city in a hungry desert was now swept clean. There was a single jungle oasis surrounding them, but Kwame could see the end of it. It wasn't like Hope Island. But after staring for several seconds, he realized the difference. "Wow."

* * *

General Connor looked out over what was once his forward operating base. "Still nothing on radar?"

"Nothing on anything." Colonel Johnson reported. "Our most hardened units are off the air. They could stand up to the EMP of a World War, but that... whatever-it-was cooked everything manufactured."

"Including the radios and all our vehicles." The General nodded. "I've had to send people cross country to find a place with working communications." He glanced over. "Which means I can't send people to look for your kids. Either of them."

The Colonel pointed ahead. "I could go myself."

"If you were going to do that, you would have already." The General commented. "But you won't, for the same reason I won't send anyone. If the Planeteers lost that fight, or fought to a draw, then it's even money whether or not you'd run into Gauntlet on the way there. And that's assuming that either side ain't coming for us next. I'll be honest with you, Colonel. I'm not entirely sure it matters anymore. For all we know, the entire country's been shut down. I heard about Hope Island. The _Saratoga_ was the nearest craft still active; and it still took a day or two to get to Hope Island. Anything closer got shut down completely."

"Nothing to do but wait, and admire the scenery." The Colonel commented. "And it's a nicer view than we had yesterday, that's for sure."

* * *

"It's like something out of National Geographic." Gi enthused. "I've never seen a desert so... perfect."

The world beyond their Oasis was a vibrant landscape, with sands so bright red, and skies so fiercely blue that it made them gasp in awe. They could see the water over in the distance, with palm fronds and strong reeds gathered around the water line.

Lizards scuttled smoothly, and birds circled on the warm air.

"It's beautiful." Ma-Ti said quietly. "I can feel an ocean of life beneath the surface. Moreso than when there was a city here."

"Yeah. It's amazing." Kwame said, but his voice was so flat it felt like he was on the verge of tears.

They were all feeling the same. Right now, according to what they knew, The Corporation's many tendrils would be ordering the destruction of everything. Every food supply, every water supply. Medicine, clothing, fuel... The majority of it would be destroyed.

And there was nothing they could do.

* * *

Bligh stared at her phone. New York still worked. Everyone was glued to their televisions, waiting to see which way the chips fell.

"There's a moment, Mal." She said finally. "When you let go of the dice, there's a moment before they hit the table. You breathe wrong in that moment, you change how the dice come up. That's why it feels like the universe is holding it's breath."

Mal looked worse than she felt. The man hadn't slept. Every time he tried, he woke up screaming. Bligh wasn't sure what he'd seen Stumm do via her monitors, but she knew it was bad.

"I don't know if you heard about the Third Threat." Bligh said, more thinking out loud than telling him. "But if the sun came up, it was only a temporary win. Stumm ordered all the stockpiles be destroyed."

"Not ours." Mal said.

"What do you mean?"

Mal pulled out his omnipresent tablet, and started tapping at the screen. "When the market collapsed completely last week, he ordered we buy all of it. All the food, all the medicine, all the drinking water."

"I know. I also know he ordered it all ruined."

"All the stuff we were buying up." Mal nodded. "But the rest of it, the stuff we already owned _before_ Gauntlet existed? Those orders hadn't gone out yet. They were slated to, but... well, that was when you tipped off the Board. They ordered a freeze on all orders coming from his office. They were expecting someone else to take over as CEO; but he killed them before-"

Bligh put a hand up. "Wait. How much of it survived?!"

"Well, everything." Mal said, as though it was obvious. "At least, everything that already had a Corporation Logo on it; which was already a command percentage of-"

"Oh my god." Bligh breathed. "Mal, do you have any idea what that means? I'm the only member of the Board left! All that is mine now! Every bite of food left to eat, every drop of water fit to drink, every... Every man, woman, and child on the planet is mine now! They'll pay anything to avoid..." The cruel, cunning gleam in her eye suddenly went dark. Her gaze turned to the rest of Stum-of _her_ office. The rotten skeleton, and the foulness creeping across the walls... And the single office plant, alive and vibrant from Gaia's touch.

"Boss?" Mal asked, not sure what was going on in her head.

Bligh suddenly burst into wretched sobs, face falling into her hands, breaking down completely.

Mal started trembling again. In a week full of horrors, Bligh's tears was still the weirdest thing he'd faced.

* * *

"Kwame seems... heartbroken." Linka observed.

"I think he was hoping that we'd find some brilliant escape. Some way to reach them, turn them on Zarm." Wheeler shook his head. "I gotta admit, I hoped the same thing, but there was no chance to breathe, let alone try to reason with anyone."

"They knocked us out of the sky before we could say anything, Yankee. That's not on us." Linka said. "But what I meant was, he seemed heartbroken at the... the gorgeous desert left behind after yesterday. I think he wanted another lush jungle."

"I think Kwame was hoping that we could turn Nervada into a new breadbasket for the country. Some way to beat the Third Disaster and keep everyone fed after all."

"A pipe dream. The Corporation owned so much. One more orchard, even one the size of Hope Island wouldn't save the world. If it could, we would have invited food shipments out of Hope Island months ago."

"True enough." He squeezed her hand as they fell silent for a while. "We've been here before, you know." Wheeler said softly. "Looking at the storm clouds in the distance, wondering if there's anything left of the world beyond them."

"We still don't know what happened to Gauntlet." Linka said quietly. "But if we're here, then it means Zarm lost. I can't imagine they survived."

Wheeler, very carefully, rested a hand on her shoulder. And for once, she pulled him closer instead of leaning away. In fact, she shifted over and pulled his arm around her shoulders. "I lived without her for a long time." Linka said quietly. "I told myself I was fine with it. Told myself I didn't need her there." She glanced at him for half a heartbeat. "I've spent most of my life trying to prove it. It didn't make me strong. It made me lonely."

"It made you both." Wheeler promised. "Linka, I really don't want to be 'that guy' right now, but you know you don't have to be strong like that around me, right?"

"I know." Linka said quietly. "Because you did the same thing when your mom died."

Wheeler shook his head. "It was harder for you, babe. My mom had a far better reason for not being there."

"I wasn't hoping to win anyone back. They were busy, I wasn't a priority. It wasn't that we didn't talk; it was that we had nothing to say. But…" Linka looked at him. "How did you do it? How did you get that… lonely, and then make other people your whole life afterward? JJ? Polly? Then us? How did you manage to get past that feeling? And do it enough to have a whole family around you?" She wiped a slowly gathering tear away quickly.

"What was the alternative? JJ had lost his mom, and we knew Dad was going to deploy again..." Wheeler shrugged. "And… I don't know, I guess that was why I decided to stick with the Planeteers, too."

"I'll never get to make things right with my mom." Linka was clenching her free hand into a fist so tight that she could feel her nails cutting into her palms. "And the thing is, I never planned to. I could have made my parents come and talk to me when I became a Planeteer. But I decided I would always look after myself without them. I never… I never planned to keep my parents out, when I became a player on the world stage. Can't help but think there's a reason why Gauntlet never got to JJ. It's because they knew you were still close with him."

"I honestly don't care why they never picked him. I'm just glad they didn't." Wheeler squeezed her hand. "And I'm sorry you never got into a better place with your parents."

"He wanted me to save them. They all did. Natali lost her brother, Kwame lost his friend. Gi is working herself into grey hairs over there, she's so ashamed of forgetting about Cho."

"Natali already thought her brother was dead. Kwame's problem is he doesn't know whether or not to tell her the whole story." Wheeler told her. "Trish got what she wanted, and became a player instead of a spectator. Ditto for Bligh. Your mother… whatever her reasons were-"

"I know her reasons." Linka said evenly. "They were the same reasons I had for conjuring up a tornado for the first time. Gentle touches weren't enough; so she got hard and she got mean." Linka looked at him carefully. "I… have been identifying with her a bit more than I'm comfortable with."

Wheeler said nothing for a moment. "Recent events prevent me from thinking you could ever be cold and indifferent at heart. I, of all people, can say otherwise."

Linka blushed, just a little. "Yes, you can." She sighed. "When I found out who the Gauntlet was, I realized that the problem with looking at the Big Picture all the time is that you forget how it's always made up of little pictures." She cupped his face between both hands, not for the first time. "You always saw the little pictures. Frustrating as it was, sometimes... I hoped that would never change."

"Maybe we have a shot and actually living happily ever after, then." Wheeler said quietly. "As long as one of us always has the big picture in mind, and the other cares about the little pictures more… If we can keep each other even, instead of being mad at each other..."

"One thing we've learned for sure, Yankee. We're at our best when combined. My mother picked the side where nothing worked together. And she lost." She looked down. "But my father will never see it that way."

"You never know."

"No, I do. He helped your father prevent a war. He knew the stakes. If that's the price, then it was worth-"

"You're doing it again." Wheeler said quietly. "Being ultra-rational and practical when the emotions get painful. Didn't we just agree that wasn't always the best move for you?"

"I've been doing that my whole life on this particular topic." Linka admitted. "My parents always cared about me, but I was never their top priority. Not compared to… saving the world. Truth is, I think the reason they both went into Interpol was because they couldn't bear to be apart from their partner." She looked out the window. "You can love someone and still find their presence inconvenient."

Wheeler flat out smothered her in a bear hug. No quips, no reassuring platitudes, just wholehearted affection.

And for once, Linka indulged, outright snuggling into it. "I have Grandmother. I have Ruby. I have all of you."

"And me most of all." Wheeler promised.

"Seems to me like I'm a lucky girl, in the family department." Linka pulled back enough to kiss him again. "Besides, I can relate. If we weren't both Planeteers, what would this little romance look like?"

"I don't know." Wheeler admitted. "Something my mom said once: You can't jump a canyon in two jumps. Half a leap only works on small things. What held me back for most of the last year was my worry that you'd chicken out if we ever took the plunge."

"No, I can't do that." Linka said with certainty. "I mean, I get why you thought that, but the moment I saw you on that dock, alive and well, I knew I'd never be able to go back to the way things were. Half a leap is never going to work for me."

Wheeler nodded. "The things I care about, I commit all the way. Ride or Die. You and me are something Real."

"The last few weeks have been very… humbling for me. I've felt more kinship with my enemies than my closest friends. I've gone to war with a mother I barely know, and didn't even blink… And I lost you. I've gotten a very good look at all the consequences of my choices." Linka sighed. "I wasted my chance with my family, Wheeler. I don't want to waste anymore chances."

Wheeler made her look at him. "Linka, I made my choice a long time ago. I could have fought the expulsion at Yale, I could have fought the… I decided a long time ago that the people I cared about were my life. And just so you know, that includes y-"

Linka leaned forward and kissed him deeply. "I love you, Wheeler."

He pulled back a bit more, so that she could see the stunned look in his eyes, and the purely happy smile on his face. "I can't believe you said it first."

"All in, right?" Linka reminded him.

"All in." Wheeler confirmed. "And I love you too."

* * *

"I'm glad they got there, before all this." Gi said quietly, watching them discreetly.

"So am I." Kwame said quietly. "I mean… Until."

"Until." Gi said quietly. "We had to do it, didn't we?"

"Fight Gauntlet? Yes." Kwame nodded. "They would have torn the planet apart if something hadn't stopped them." He sent a glance to the sky. "If we're all still here, then Wheeler's father must have been able to convince them to hold back, but…"

"We stopped them from wiping out the world directly. Maybe, maybe, _maybe_ we can stop the Corporation too. I mean, they need to eat, don't they?"

"I keep thinking about what Bligh said, about how the Corporations already destroy food if it isn't cost-effective to try and sell it. How many of those people that do the trashing actually check with each other planet-wide first? We have no idea what happened with Bligh and Stumm. Even if she won..." Kwame admitted. "And with the Geo-Cruiser destroyed, we really don't have a clue what's going on out there. Odds are better than good that there's a global riot going on over the last of the food right now."

Gi was silent a long moment. "We couldn't do anything against Stumm. Every single one of us were needed here. Colonel Johnson couldn't do anything here. We needed him where he was. If enough people can hold off the end of the world in enough ways, and do it every day… Then the world spins on forever. That's the goal, isn't it? To reduce the number of ways things can end, help people make the right choices for all the places we can't fix?"

Kwame shivered. "I just wish I knew what was happening out there. We aren't out in the middle of the ocean this time, but we're just as cut off."

"I remember reading about the end of the Second World War. I remember reading that Hitler signed an order, saying that if it looked like he was going to lose the war, his troops were to raze everything to the ground. Every house, every street, every bridge, every artwork…" Gi bit her lip. "If Bligh failed… I still don't know what Zarm is exactly, but I'm betting he's the type to destroy everything out of sheer spite."

Kwame shook his head. "Some people just have to have everything, don't they?"

Gi snuggled closer to him. "Just so you know, if it comes to that? If the future of the human race is a Mad Max movie from here on out? I'll still stick with you, forever."

"Feeling's mutual, my love." Kwame hugged her tight, and the five of them waited to see what was left of the world.

* * *

 **BREAKING NEWS:**

"We're now able to report that limited Communications have been restored. Special Thanks to our own Karen Gillys for keeping the flame alive while the lights were out."

"Good morning, Dan. Unfortunately, the news is not all good. We don't really have any field reporters left just yet, but I want to take this moment to give thanks to my friends in the Planeteer Foundation. They'd finished their part fourteen hours ago, but they're still helping as best they can. Emily, can you hear me? We've patched the phone into the studio."

"I can hear you, Karen. On the surface it's mostly peaceful. I think it's dawned on everybody that there's not really anything left to fight over. After a week of the 'Try To Fly' parties, and everything else that happened; there isn't really anyone left to tear down or loot… And I think it's dawned on everyone that the shelves aren't being restocked. I got a lot of people here taking shopping carts full of their things and walking the Hudson Bridge. They're heading for the mainland, but there aren't a lot of working vehicles left, and…"

"I'm sorry, I think we've lost her. Communications are going up and down-"

"No, I'm still here, but… Karen, there are helicopters in the sky. I haven't seen anything in the sky for three days. They're… They're not military, but they're huge."

"Wait, I can hear them. I can hear them here in the studio! Transport Choppers?"

"Yeah. And they've got logos from The Corporation all over them!"

"What are they doing?"

"I think… I think they're making a Food Drop!"

* * *

After a few hours, the Planeteers discovered the wreck of the Geo-Cruiser.

"Well, at least now we have an idea of how far the Planet-Force reached." Linka observed. "We may have turned half of Nevada into a flawless landscape."

"Wonder what that would do to the property values?" Wheeler quipped darkly; though nobody laughed. Even if Vegas was empty, there were still people in that range.

Gi had already climbed into the fuselage and looked through it. "She'll never fly again. But I think I can get the radio working." She stuck her head back out to look. "Assuming there's anyone left to call. Anyone that can answer, anyway."

"And I guess we can't put that off anymore." Kwame yawned. "What's the next move? We don't know what state the world is in, but the most likely scenario is that The Corporation is trashing all the world's supplies right now. At best, someone's trying to stop them before we all starve. What's our response?"

Gi let out an epic sigh. "There's nothing we can do. Not against that. For all our power, there are only five of us."

"Right. So let's talk about what we _can_ do." Kwame said seriously. "We still have Hope island. A land-mass that will grow anything, and can support a much larger community of people than it has been."

"Kwame, at most that's…"

"A few thousand. Ten or twelve thousand at the outside. But with what we've got there… That's a colony of people living clean, living sustainable…"

"Twelve thousand." Wheeler said softly, and suddenly nobody was smiling. "I keep thinking about something Gi said, back when this started, about how Gaia could wipe out more than three quarters of us, and humanity will still go on just fine." He shook his head. "It doesn't feel like a victory."

"But it isn't necessarily a defeat. Not nearly like the way it could have been." Ma-Ti offered.

"And it's not like we can just drop them off." Linka put in. "They'll be scared, angry, hungry. They'll need all five of us to organize them, keep them in line, teach them how to do anything without the rest of the world... It'll be a full time job for all of us."

Sullen silence.

Gi spoke finally. "I'm not going."

Everyone looked over in surprise.

Gi looked at Kwame, eyes begging him to understand. "I love you. I love all of you. But before all this started, I spent a year turning my houseboat into a green and sustainable place. But I did it. We had zero money to spend on such things, but I was able to pull it together by understanding the tech, understanding the science. I put it together from scrounged parts." She waved at the horizon, where the storm clouds were still dark. "I could do that with other homes, guys. There's a billion homes out there that'll be abandoned once the food runs out. If I can conjure water for those people, I don't get to run away."

Deathly silence.

"I'm staying too." Wheeler said finally. "Before all this started, I built urban gardens. The Patch, my container garden… I know how to take a tiny concrete space, surrounded by violent gangs, and turn it into a small farm that can feed people in a practical way. I know how to make it work in a sealed up room, or a burned out ruin of a building. I went dumpster diving for things I could use as pots. I was looking for every inch so bad, I once used an old tennis shoe to grow basil in. Gi's right. Plenty of people are going to be desperate, fighting over the scraps. I can protect her, and I can help them start over. I can't run away either."

Linka smirked. "The fact that Wheeler and Gi spoke first is the only reason I'm telling you at all, but I've already put together a few… essentials. Back before all this, I was a farmer, in a climate that really wasn't worth farming in. All of my town were. I had to help some of the guys in town while they hand made parts for our generators, furnaces… Nobody was going to help, so I had to steal tech manuals from out-of-town libraries. And let's face it. Gi and Wheeler wouldn't last a week without me."

"Especially Wheeler." Gi smirked.

Kwame actually looked relieved. "I spent my free time planting trees. By hand. Without crazy earth powers. I'm in charge of this little group, but I admit I think we should stay too."

"You wanna keep us safe, Kwame. But we're never safe. Never will be."

Kwame smiled, and was about to make a comment, when they all heard it. Helicopters. Big transport helicopters. A lot of them.

They all rushed to where they could see the sky, and found the transport choppers making a slow circle of the whole area. One of them hovered directly over them for several moments, and came in for a landing.

Instinctively, the Planeteers looked to Kwame, who let out a breath. "Okay. Let's see where the chips fell."

* * *

 **BREAKING NEWS:**

"Like a miracle, help came. We were expecting to report a complete breakdown of all social and civic infrastructure, but thankfully; that has not happened. We go now to our star reporter, Karen Gillys. Karen?"

"Thank you, Dan. Every refugee and relief center has now reported that food, clothing and water drops have been made in every country that we can still get reports from. A few days ago, we were reporting that The Corporation had ownership of every supply of... well, pretty much everything left. Now they're handing it out."

"Will it be enough, Karen?"

"It'll be enough to keep thousands of millions of people fed for a time. Our research desk isn't really back up to speed, yet. But the people I'm talking to say that it should be enough resources to keep the peace, until the infrastructure can be rebuilt."

"So, just to sum up… The Corporation has managed to save the world after all."

"What's left of it. Apparently, the entire Board of Directors, as well as CEO Vernan Stumm were all killed by Gauntlet, or the 'Try To Fly' raves that Gauntlet set loose."

"It certainly fits their profile, Karen. Targeting the wealthy and powerful."

"That's right, though obviously it's too early to be official. We still haven't heard anything from the police yet. The local Departments haven't reopened yet."

"So, who's in charge at The Corporation now?"

"Barbara Bligh, head of Security for the Corporation. She's the highest ranking member of the Organization; and apparently it was her personal instruction that made the food drops happen."

"Well, you can't argue with the results. The sudden influx of resources has cooled world tensions, dramatically."

"Moreso than anyone expected, Dan. In fact, if I'm totally honest, I owe CEO Bligh an apology. When the Corporation started buying out all those infrastructure and business entities, it wasn't a secret that they took a huge loss on them. At the time, we had all expected The Corporation to raise prices and gouge the public terribly with their new uber-Monopoly. But this sudden… Dan, I can't imagine that even The Corporation is going to be able to survive this much… generosity. They are, at this point, providing life support to pretty much four-fifths of the planet… and they aren't charging for any of it."

"More than goods and supplies, Karen. We're receiving reports that The Corporation is turning over their real estate holdings to local governments, to be used as relief centers, refugee centers, soup kitchens, and temporary housing. Their hard cash reserves are being given away to anyone who's lost a home or business."

"Is that money still worth anything?"

"I'll be honest with you, Karen; I wouldn't have thought so, this time yesterday. But apparently, funneling all those resources in at the local, state, and international level has acted as something of a Bailout. The sun came up, and the world managed to hold back just enough to avoid a war. Gauntlet is presumed dead. People are returning to work."

"Even in Vegas, Dan. I had a call from an unnamed source, who tells me that the Nevada desert has been completely swept clean of all the debris and wreckage left after the Hoover Dam collapse. I've been sent a few pictures of the areas around all that spilled water, and it's an oasis now. An oasis the size of Lake Mead."

"Has there been any word from The Planeteers?"

"No sign at all. But I wouldn't count them out just yet."

* * *

The helicopter took them to a ship. A private yacht, large enough to have a heliport. That was a surprise. Who was waiting for them was not.

"I thought it better if we meet here." Bligh said, dismissing her people. "I could have had you meet me at Corporation HQ, but I'm seriously planning to burn the whole building down. I don't really believe in evil spirits, even after all this; but if there's anywhere in the world that's haunted by demons, it's that hellhole."

Kwame actually smiled at her. "We're all still here. I guess you pulled it off."

From the bottom drawer of her desk, Bligh pulled the last Gauntlet, with it's Golden Stone. The stone had gone dark and lifeless. "I did it. Now get this thing away from me and bury it in a volcano somewhere."

Ma-Ti picked it up and put it away. "I will."

Silence.

"Thank you." Kwame said suddenly, and very sincerely. "Bligh, thank you. You saved the world yesterday."

"He's right about that." Gi admitted. "As much as I hate to say it; you were the one who pulled this off, Bligh. We fought the Gauntlet, but you're the reason the sun came up this morning. And from what I've heard during the flight here, you're also the reason the world will keep spinning on."

"The question is: What's your next move?" Wheeler put in. "Because what we're hearing says that there's no way the Corporation can refinance from this. How do you plan to get all that money back?"

"I don't." Bligh said simply. "This is why I had to get you all here."

"To do what?"

"To surrender." Bligh sighed. "You win."

Dead silence.

"Wait, what are we talking about?" Kwame asked.

"You won." Bligh said again. "The Corporation is dead. Gi's right. We aren't going to survive to the end of the next quarter. For all our unlimited resources, the truth is that the greatest power of The Corporation is its influence. We held markers or blackmail material on everyone above the rank of dogcatcher. But most of them are dead, in hiding, or just don't care anymore."

"So how does that affect the next step?"

"The way The Corporation worked when it all started was simple. We organized a merger between a lot of the largest companies. The top eight percent of companies owned half the world long before we ever came alone. We just took their profits, put it into a large discretionary fund, and then used it to cover everyone's expenses. That 'discretionary fund' is going to be bankrupt soon. And when everyone realizes that the entire Board of Directors is dead, along with everyone else in the Headquarters…"

"Word on that is already leaking." Gi put in.

"Then the Corporation disbands, and it all goes back to the way it was before The Great Merger." Bligh summed up.

Silence.

"You got what you wanted." Bligh said quietly.

Kwame almost smiled. "Bligh, that's the point you never got. We don't need to destroy our enemies. We don't care who gets the profit, or who gets the credit. Our goal is that the world keeps spinning on forever; and that everyone gets a chance to live."

"How'd that work for you yesterday?" Bligh needled.

"You got what you wanted, too." Ma-Ti said softly. "A legacy that would make people weep across the world at your funeral. Immortality. But you won't be remembered for power, won't be remembered for wealth. You'll be remembered for your generosity. For feeding the hungry and giving hope to the helpless. For saving the world, and taking apart the Corporation that you're currently the Apex of."

"I know." Bligh said seriously. "The irony is not lost on me."

Silence.

Bligh shook her head slowly. "Is this a little too chummy for anyone else?"

"If it helps, I still don't like you." Linka offered.

Bligh was silent for a long moment. "I could go the rest of the way, y'know. The Corporation won't have a whole lot left by the time everyone else is back up to speed. But I could still… I could make sure that when the infrastructure is rebuilt, it's renewable instead of coal and oil. I could make it so that every structure is designed to be eco-friendly. There's no shipping left, I could have all of them refit for electric turbines and solar panels…"

The five of them stared at her, trying not to scream, daring to wonder if she meant it.

Bligh went quiet for a long time, staring at nothing. "I wasn't against what you stood for, you know. I had my agenda, it meant more to me than yours did. You could say the same. Maybe yours is more noble, but… I mean, so what?"

"Still feel that way?" Kwame asked.

"I don't know." Bligh admitted, and it was clear she didn't want to talk about it anymore. "We've set a course for Hope Island. I'm sorry about your Glider. I won't be building you another one."

"Are you giving us a ride home, or marooning us on Hope Island?"

"I think we both know your involvement is still kind of touchy. That strike the Powers That Be were planning wasn't just for Gauntlet." Bligh said. "I'm using up everything I've got left. Sooner or later, the Politicians and Money Changers will shake off their shock and want to be in charge again. What happens after that, I have no idea."

* * *

"Still can't reach your dad?" Wheeler asked Linka. She had tried her satellite phone off and on several times as the Yacht powered across the ocean.

"Not sure if we're having technical difficulties, or if he just doesn't want to talk to me." Linka admitted quietly. "He'll never forgive me."

"For what? Staying alive?" Wheeler countered.

"For taking out his partner."

"We didn't do that. Remember that, Linka." Kwame said, as he and Gi came over to join them. "We fought the good fight, but none of us forced the showdown; and it wasn't us that won it." Kwame sighed hard. "Part of me wonders if we should even tell people who Gauntlet was."

"We aren't the only ones who know that secret." Gi told him. "It'll get out eventually." She gave him a squeeze, knowing what he was really thinking. "And Natali should hear it from you before anyone else."

* * *

Their families came running down the dock as the Planeteers returned.

"You're back! You're back!" Ruby was flat out shrieking as she ran into Linka's waiting arms. "You won!" She pulled back, suddenly calm. "I wasn't worried for a minute."

Linka laughed and swept the girl up. Ruby immediately reached over her shoulder and pulled Wheeler over too. Linka rolled her eyes at the obvious move, but didn't hesitate to pull Wheeler in closer.

"Where's JJ?" Wheeler asked.

"Not coming back yet, but he called. He's okay." Ruby said. "But don't go yet?"

Wheeler squeezed the girl's hand. "Why would I go anywhere without my two best girls?"

Ruby trilled a little.

A few feet behind them, Gi and Kwame were watching the blatantly domestic spectacle with silly grins. Wheeler and Linka put Ruby between them, and she swung on their hands as they made their way toward the huts.

* * *

Ma-Ti came to his parents, and found them at the edge of their battlefield. Lizzie Quinn had left a scar of anti-life that turned a mile or two of the island into wasteland.

His parents were there, burying the dead animals. Lizzie Quinn was there, trying to negotiate a shovel with her one good hand. The exertion had her pale and sweaty, looking like she was going to fall down any second.

Quinn saw him first, and her jaw dropped. "You're alive!" She blurted.

Ma-Ti's parents spun, to see their son coming, and ran to him. "You're back! You did it?"

"We did it." Ma-Ti promised, looking around the wasteland. "I never did thank you, did I?"

"Thank us?" his father blinked.

"Well it wasn't us who saved the day during the last week." Ma-Ti pointed at Lizzie Quinn. "It was you. And Agent Petrov. And Colonel Johnson. And even Bligh."

Lizzie sniffed. "I would have liked to have been on that list, instead of the other one." She confessed. "Um, if there's anything you still need me to do… I mean… If there's still a world left out there."

"You don't know?" Ma-Ti asked.

"News was off the air, even before you left." His mother explained. "It came back during the battle, but…"

Ma-Ti looked around the wasteland again. "We still have some cleaning up to do, don't we?"

 **Quite a Bit, yes.**

Ma-Ti smiled. "Gaia. You're alive."

 **I am life, incarnate. Calling me a 'survivor' may be something on an understatement.**

Ma-Ti chuckled. "Forgive me. What I meant was, we weren't sure you had made it through the battle. We saw Zarm and the Planet-Force at war with each other. I may just be the only one that understands how much of your own life force was in danger." He smiled a bit, as though looking at someone. "And then when you didn't say anything..."

 **My attention has been... elsewhere. I go where the Spirit moves me, and it does so for reasons that even I don't fully comprehend. I have had much to consider.**

"For example?"

 **When I gave the five of you those Rings, I was hoping to find a way that humans could exist within my domain. I wanted champion, and examples. But when the moment came, Zarm was able to factor you in to make his ultimate victory a certainty. My Heroes For Earth were part of my enemy's design. It has been very humbling to find that the battle was won thanks to others; including those in Zarm's power.**

* * *

Linka's family, and Gi's family were also full of questions as well. Gi and Kwame took turns telling them the story. The conversation took them until dinner time, and Ma-Ti's family joined them as the story came to an end.

"I wish I could have seen that!" Gi's father remarked as they finished laying out dinner plates on the table.

"I'd have been glad to watch it on television." Gi told him, staring at the food like she hadn't seen a meal in days.

"We've been watching the coverage. JJ's actually been on the air once or twice." Yumi put in. "It's pretty quiet, all things considered. Everyone's pretty stunned. But it seems to be working. The Corporation is dissolving, piece by piece, the farms are all back at work, so are the supermarkets, the-"

"The fishing fleets, and the lumberjacks…" Kwame murmured philosophically. "Was it enough?"

Kim was silent a moment. "You may not remember what it was like when The Corporation was formed, Kwame. But I do. Going back to the way it was before? It's for the best. Back when I was your age, competition meant whoever could make the most money, or get the most customers. Now, just maybe, there's enough people who could count going Green as a selling point. Or at the very least, enough people who are willing to make the effort; now that it's getting easier and cheaper to do the right thing than not."

"We've been here before." Gi put in. "Back in the 1850's, the Industrialized World ran on Whale Oil. Eight thousand whales a day were slaughtered for the oil, the bone... Whaling was the fifth largest industry in the USA. Then Kerosene came along in 1854. In thirty years, America went from a whaling fleet of over seven hundred, to under forty." Gi snuck a quick bite, too hungry to wait. "I said it a dozen times, back then. The world went from VCR to 4K Blu-Ray because people saw the upsides of upgrading. Nobody passed a law, or started a war. They just did what made sense for them."

"Taking out the Corporation had another effect too." Ma-Ti added as he came in. "There's a lot less influence over the rest of the world. Regular Mega-Corps can cover up a lot of sins, but The Corporation could bury whole countries. It's still not a fair fight, but it's better than it was."

"JJ called in an hour ago." Yumi offered. "He says that with all the disruption, some people are looking to make the Foundation a legit, full-time business. Not just a volunteer thing, but a global workforce, offering room and board to anyone who's willing to work. It won't pay much, but that's still a million people who are willing to clean up the mess, clean up disaster zones, rebuild the houses… If Bligh's willing to kick in some funding, or legal protections, it'd be a viable deal. Something that could grow, after everything burned down."

Alana arrived with Ruby in time to hear most of that, and the two of them sat, as Kim spooned them some dinner. "It'll never go back to the way it was before. It didn't all end with the big showdown. The latest from the news is that about a quarter of places in Eastern Europe and Northern Africa are shut down irreparably. There's a migration crisis started, and given the… reluctance of so many governments, nobody's quite sure what's going to happen to twenty million people."

"Alana, the Climate Shifts were enough to dry out Cape Town completely." Kwame reminded her. "Climate migration is a problem we were always going to have to deal with. One of the few things on the list that haven't changed." He picked up his knife and fork. "In the meantime, we did a huge thing, and the world kept turning. Back when we started this, we weren't sure we'd get that far." Kwame said. "It feels like the worst is behind us. I don't know if it is or not, but I do know that the big battles feel like victories, when really; the best changes that get made are done without anyone noticing until after the fact. I just hope enough people feel the same."

Agreeing with that, The Planeteers started to eat.

Yumi looked around. "Should we wait for Linka and Wheeler?"

"No." Everyone answered her all at once.

* * *

 **BREAKING NEWS:**

"And now the latest on the ongoing situation, which we're thankfully no longer calling a Crisis. Riots have dispersed across the United States, as food shipments stabilize. There's still some online complaints, as the storerooms of the Corporation don't have as large a variety as people are used to, but the general feeling is gratitude. For more on this, one of our newest reporters, JJ Johnson. JJ, we're grateful to you for helping out the last few days."

"Glad to do something useful, sir."

"What are you hearing on the ground?"

"Well, as you said, there was some griping online, but I think the world in general has figured out how close we came to the edge. The feeling on the matter is that it won't kill us to live like the rest of the world for a whole week. Truth is, a lot of people are getting a better deal from the state of emergency than they have before."

"Explain that."

"I'm currently at the Free Clinic set up in Central Park. People are having an easier time finding a meal and a doctor here than they did back before it all went crazy. Nobody really knows what the world is going to look like tomorrow, but there's no small number of people who are glad to see yesterday's world go."

"True enough. JJ; has there been any word about The Planeteers?"

"Still nothing, which isn't necessarily bad news. Nobody's quite sure what to make of them now. But if you're asking if my brother has been in touch, no. Not yet. Again, means nothing. Communications are still spotty internationally, without a hardline."

* * *

It had been a long day, and Ruby was finally running out of her impossible enthusiastic adrenaline. She had insisted that Linka tuck her in, and Wheeler had gone along, inseparable from Linka as he always was now.

Ruby was finally starting to doze, as Linka and Wheeler took turns reading her stories. The two of them sat quietly for a while, just being quiet together, listening to each other read softly. Ruby's light snoring finally came, and Linka put the book away.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked finally.

"Nothing very profound." Linka admitted. "You remember when we went out to the Tar Sands to try and clean them up?"

"I remember."

"And remember the chemical spills after the Reclaimer? Took three of us to keep the spills from spreading for miles."

"I remember that too."

Linka shook her head lightly. "I saw an artist's rendering of a totally green, eco-friendly community. It was… it was beautiful, Yankee. Everything alive and healthy, vibrant colors, and clear blue sky; and everything clean… I've personally gone around the world visiting the nightmare scenarios. The animals screaming in terror because they're covered in muck, the acid rains, the children being kept away from their own kitchen sinks because the water is too toxic…" She shook her head. "Even the people who don't believe in Climate Change… They can't want to live like that, right?"

"Imagine, if we manage to create clean air, and clean water, and cheap, reliable off-grid power that doesn't cause sickness, and turn the world into a healthy, living place… and then Climate Change turns out to be a big hoax." Wheeler drawled sarcastically.

"And we'll have made the world so much better, and reduced the cost of living, all for no reason at all." Linka hammed it up, chuckling to herself. Her eyes went to Ruby. "I love this little girl, Wheeler. And she's got a home on Hope Island. Part of me is tempted to just declare victory, let the world pick itself up, and stay here. Eat tropical fruits off the vine every morning. Play baseball games with Ruby and JJ every afternoon. Romp with you half the night. Watch the sun come up over the beach and do it all over again."

"Sounds like someone's definition of paradise to me." Wheeler agreed. "In fact, it sounds like my definition of perfect." He smiled a little. "But we're not really wired for 'perfect', are we, babe?"

"No." Linka agreed. "We're made for slaying dragons. It's what we're best at."

Wheeler smiled wickedly. "Second best."

She flushed. "Not in front of the kids, Yankee." She hissed, glancing at the lightly snoring girl.

* * *

The Planeteers met over breakfast the next day.

"Still can't get a signal across to JJ." Wheeler complained.

"I can't reach my dad, either." Linka sighed. "Gi says the same thing happened when Hope Island was formed. High energy static discharge in the air, signals get scrambled. Like a lightning storm going for days."

"Well, in the meantime, we still have the news. Satellites are still working, thank mercy." Gi observed. "I've been piecing together what I can, and… Well, there's another upside to Bligh giving away her store."

Kwame, over at the Mission Board, was erasing more than half the list, a line at a time. "All of these things were wiped out by circumstance. Everything got put on hold, and with Bligh giving so much away, they aren't likely to ever start again."

"We might actually get a vacation." Linka said brightly.

Everyone stared at her. "A vacation?" Gi repeated. "Who are you, and what have you done with Linka Petrova?"

"What?" Linka said defensively. "If you haven't noticed, we seem to have made a real difference. Isn't that what we've been telling people for a week? No reason we can't take a week or two to… celebrate."

"Is that what you're calling it?" Gi drawled.

Wheeler whistled innocently.

Ma-Ti rolled his eyes. "You're sending half the animals on the island into heat, you know."

Gi giggled. "Get outta here, both of you." She told them. "Obviously, we have some time."

Blushing, Linka stood up. "Well, if you insist." She went over to the door, and glanced back at Wheeler. "Um… chase me." She told him primly, and took off running for the beach.

Wheeler stood up, in no particular hurry, gave his fellow teammates a polite nod… and then took off after Linka, actually leaving a firetrail behind him.

"Thing is… we're not done." Kwame said once they were gone. "Linka's right, we scored a major victory, and we lived to tell the tale, but it threw things into chaos. I don't know if our continued involvement is going to make it better or worse, but I do know the world that was is gone."

Gi nodded. "And if something new is going to be put in its place, we get one chance only to frame it right."

"Frame it right?" Kwame repeated. "I don't know, Gi. I have no idea what a fair economy looks like. I have no idea how the leaders should be picked, or what their first priority should be. I have no idea how to clean up the mess that we left this week, and I don't know how to provide relief or rescue to anyone in dire straits after everything Gauntlet did."

Gi hesitated, before she pushed her laptop closed. "Me neither."

"We have the authority to speak on the subject of the environment, because the Earth itself summoned us together and told us to do something. We can't say the same about the other stuff."

Gi smiled, a little rueful. "No, I guess not. But we have to say something."

* * *

A day later, as the sun came up, Linka and Wheeler came to join the others for breakfast. Ruby had a big smile when she noticed they were walking hand in hand. They hadn't left each other's side willingly since Wheeler had returned from the dead.

"So, what did we miss?" Wheeler asked.

"We're trying to sort out our next move." Ma-Ti reported. "When Hope Island was created, there were a lot of questions about us. Now the questions are all about what comes next."

"A question that has far less to do with us than they might think." Gi put in.

"Wheeler!" A voice called from up the beach, and those assembled turned to see Kim waving from the Comm Tent. "We got a signal from JJ!"

Wheeler was quickly running for the tent. And still didn't let go of Linka's hand, but her long stride could easily keep up with him.

"Ohh, those two are going to become insufferable soon, aren't they?" Alana sighed, though she couldn't keep the smile off her face.

"I figure they'll either live happily ever after, or murder each other in six weeks." Kwame said simply. "Either way, they'll be a stronger team, and a fiercer enforcer for our future missions."

"How long do you think you'll stay, before things get busy again?" Yumi asked.

"Depends on how things shake out." Gi told her mother. "We can't put our pieces on the board until we know who we're playing against… or who's playing at all."

"We've been here before too." Ma-Ti said sagely. "After Hope Island was formed, we asked Gaia what she would do next. She said she would continue to move the balance back to even. That's still our mandate. To make the earth healthier, and bring humanity around to living on it forever."

* * *

"Bro! You're okay!" JJ and Wheeler both said at the same time; and they both laughed; happy to hear from each other.

"What's the feeling back there?" Wheeler asked.

"We're getting it together. The Foundation is actually managing a big chunk of the city now. Nobody's quite sure if there's still a Mayor, and the Governor was on some trip when the Gauntlet started twisting people up; so we don't have a clue where he is either. So, right now at least, the city's being organized from The Corporation, and the Foundation."

"I heard that you were working for CNN now." Wheeler commented. "Reception's been up and down here, but Kim and Yumi say that you're a natural."

"Yeah, they made an offer. Truth is, I don't know if they're serious or not. We're still trying to figure out who survived the riots. The only thing bigger than the Shelter is the morgue. It's big enough that Yankee Stadium is being converted into a pyre."

Wheeler let out a low whistle. "I'm glad you made it, man. You heard from dad?"

"He's busier than I am, but he made it. Linka's dad is with him; trying to sort some transport. They'll be coming to you."

"I want you to get back here too." Wheeler said.

"Yeah. No, that won't be happening." JJ said. "I'm… Wheels, I'm useful here. As much as I love the Island, there's not much for me to do there. I'm doing this now; and I think this is my business now."

Wheeler didn't answer for a moment. Linka squeezed his hand. "He's all grown up." She said quietly.

"Yeah. Yeah, he is." Wheeler admitted. "So, if you're not looking for a pickup, why do I think I know why you're calling?"

"CNN wants to know what happened, Bro. I'm the only one with your own personal number." JJ said, and Wheeler couldn't help the smile. "I know, became a company man really fast, didn't I?"

"It's the kind of job a grown up person should have." Wheeler said. "Not bad, considering you aren't shaving yet."

"Yeah, well. Here's hoping CNN still exists in two weeks. But if you guys have something to say on the subject, now's the time; and we're your best bet of getting it out globally."

"We're still trying to figure out what to say, over here." Wheeler admitted. "But- wait, off the record?"

"If you like." JJ laughed.

"Off the record, I don't think the usual message is going to work here. The world's been… changed."

"Yes, it has." JJ agreed. "And we're in no state to hear about Zarm and Gaia having it out. The world just isn't ready for that."

"I'm still not entirely sure Zarm is alive anymore." Linka commented to Wheeler. "But I imagine we'll find that out too."

"So what do I tell Karen?"

"Karen Gillys? When did you guys get on first name basis?"

"When we kept the network on the air during a time of global crisis." JJ reported promptly.

Wheeler smiled a bit. "Tell them… when we figure out what to tell the world, they'll get it first, thanks to you."

* * *

Six hours later, Hope Island released a message. It was just the five of them, sitting on the beach, looking at the camera, speaking earnestly.

"Before we do anything else, we want to say 'thank you'." Ma-Ti said to the world immediately. "We went into that battle, not knowing if even winning it would make a difference. We didn't save the world this time. It was all of you."

"Every single day, we rebuild the world into something new." Kwame started them off. "The world has changed quite a lot in the last week; but the truth is, we've been redefining the word 'normal' on a week-by-week basis for years now."

"Every single day, we decide what's 'normal' for us." Wheeler continued. "Nobody else can decide what our version of 'right' is. At any given moment, something we have: a job, a diet, a routine... even a long entrenched habit; could just suddenly stop working. For us, and for others. But it's always within our power to change it, rather than ride out something that doesn't work."

"What the world will look like tomorrow, we don't know." Gi put in. "But we do know that it won't look anything like yesterday. But how is that different from any other day?"

"Change is scary." Linka took up the message. "It's also inevitable. But it isn't always bad. In fact, it can be wonderful. Take a moment and think about all the things you don't like about how the world is, and then consider all the ways out there that it can change." She took Wheeler's hand. "You know what our perspective is, and if there's one thing that the last ten years have proven, it's that the world is always creating more and more ways, for each and every person to make their own mark. Technology is only one small part of that."

"And as the ability of each individual to make a difference grows, the sad paradox is that most people feel like they're being drowned out. If everyone can make a mark, nobody cares to be the one who tries." Ma-Ti put in. "And if you're going to take anything away from the Planeteers, take this: That's the most important reason to do the most you can."

"Anyone who ever did anything important in the world started out just like you." Kwame said. "We certainly did. But when we look back at the last year, and all our accomplishments… the superhero parts of it rank as some of the least effective ways to try and make things better. Powers are fascinating, and entertaining, but the real work is done in all the places where superpowers can't help."

"This is the most important time in history for people to be involved." Gi added. "And there's never been a time when there were so many ways for people to participate. And whatever tomorrow looks like, you're part of it, because deciding to do nothing is an action too."

"We don't know what the world will be in a day, but we do know it's going to happen because of what each and every one of us does today. And That Power Is Yours!"

* * *

 **AN** :

 _And with that, the Heroes For Earth Series is over. I want to thank everyone who followed along, showed patience between stories two and three, and left those reviews that I live for._ _If you'd like to see more of my work, you'll find a link to my blog in my bio; which will point you at my original fiction._

 _As much as I'd love to finish with another 'Power Is Yours' Campaign, the things I'm finding just wouldn't fit with the apocalyptic scenario I was writing for this fic, even with a happy ending._

 _This story got pushed to my top writing priority because of multiple people who sent me PM's asking if I thought there was still reason for hope. Truth is, I'm a cynic myself. I don't know if we'll win this one, but I do know that more is being done to try to fix the problem than has ever been done before. People have remarkable capacity to get things done, once they accept that it has to happen. We've been there to see that transition; and now the avalanche has started. We live in a world now where the Energy Companies know it's cheaper to buy a coal mine, pave it over; and set up a Solar Farm. (I'm not making that up, it's happening in multiple countries. Car companies are investing in Recharge Stations over Fuel Stations, and the trendiest car you can buy new is something Electric._

 _And from the stuff I'm researching, we're on the cusp of a few other such revelations in industry and business. (For those who asked about the references in early chapters, I'd recommend a book called 'Clean Meat' by Paul Shapiro._

 _Straight up: If you know where to look; there's now some good news for every bit of bad news. I'd recommend the '/RenewableEnergy/' sub, over on Reddit.  
_

 _In the last week, it's been announced that China's Air Pollution has dropped by 30% over the last three years._

 _The EU has made moves to ban single use plastics.  
_

 _And after being hunted to near extinction, a species of European Bison has been reintroduced into the Dutch wild._

 _Every single chapter, I've been able to give you multiple examples of people trying to make the world better, on a week-by-week basis. The fight is far from over. And that is why, for this grand finale, I had the non-Planeteer characters, even the villains, be instrumental in saving the world. Because all those positive stories I put in my author notes? None of the people behind them have elemental powers. (I don't think, but that would be cool)  
_

 _The Power Is Yours._


End file.
